News
China launches cross-border payments platform
Heavily anticipated China International Payment System goes live, with StanChart and ICBC Singapore announcing successful transactions on new platform
Jamaica must sustain reform, central bank governor says
Jamaica must keep economic reform efforts going for another 15 years, Brian Wynter says; calls for enhancements to role of IMF’s centre for Caribbean technical assistance
Central Bank of Iceland delays report as tensions over failed banks rise
Central bank postpones launch of financial stability report at last minute, citing the need to wait for new information; governor responds to lobby group calling for heavier tax on failed banks
Expected delay to non-EU central counterparty approval risks frontloading panic
Lawyers predict many CCPs will remain in limbo by the current December 15 deadline, which overlaps with the start of frontloading and ups the pressure on banks ahead of clearing requirement
Failed normalisation could hold back growth, IMF warns
Flagship report presents different scenarios based on whether the normalisation of monetary and financial conditions progresses smoothly or not; process could stall if risks crystallise
IMF sees divergent risks in new outlook
IMF revises growth outlook for this year and next, while noting transformation in risks; Maurice Obstfeld discussed emerging market policy in anticipation of Fed hike
ECB publishes principles to avoid market-moving missteps
‘Guiding principles’ for communications by executive board members seek to prevent select groups gaining a commercial advantage from appearances
Three eurozone central banks to trial reverse auctions of securities
The central banks of France, the Netherlands and Lithuania will hold reverse auctions of securities under the public sector purchase programme; trial will run for one month
CPMI launches plan to halt correspondent banking decline
Consultation begins on measures designed to resist the decline of correspondent banking, which is threatening to fragment international payments and damage financial inclusion
Economists push IMF reforms back into spotlight
Indian economists make case for ‘more radical’ review of resource and representation in the future; Nordic and Baltic countries press for ‘interim steps’ towards delayed 2010 reforms
Value of capital controls still up for debate
Research published by BIS and IMF points to potential benefits from capital flow measures and macro-prudential tools, but other economists question the results
Spanish ‘bad bank’ must revise valuations of half of remaining assets
The Bank of Spain says Sareb, the country’s ‘bad bank’, must publish revised valuations of half of its assets by the end of the year; publishes criteria for company to use
Chicago Fed official slams CFTC, SEC over HFT regulation
'You cannot have 80% of the market being just HFT,' says Rajeev Ranjan, a member of the reserve bank's economic research department
Boston Fed conference lays bare uncertainty over macro-prudential policy
Central bankers raise concerns over theoretical and practical barriers to exercise of macro-prudential policy in the US and the appropriate role for monetary policy
Fiji laments 'torn and burnt' polymer banknotes
Central bank governor urges Fijians to stop ironing polymer notes which can 'cause them to melt and shrink'
SNB’s Zurbrügg says negative rates painful but necessary
Vice-chair concerned by financial stability impact of negative interest rates, but says they make sense from a monetary policy perspective; talks with industry have been ‘very heated’
BIS paper uncovers new evidence on FX reserve and capital flow link
Paper argues role of domestic investors is key to properly understanding how foreign exchange reserves can dampen volatile capital movements
BoE may impose extra liquidity charges, says regulator
BoE will impose Basel III add-ons if banks’ risks are not fully captured by LCR, says prudential policy head
Czech exchange commitment will ‘probably’ run beyond July 2016
Czech National Bank likely to use exchange rate as a monetary policy tool until July 2016 or later; formal extension and negative interest rates discussed but judged unnecessary
Weak jobs report sends dollar tumbling
Report shows nonfarm payrolls increased by just 142,000 in September, while July and August totals have been revised down; dollar drops by almost 1% against euro
Irish central bank proposes staggered rise in financial industry levy
Ireland’s central bank has proposed staggering a rise in the levy to cover financial regulation costs; still supports rise in proportion of costs paid by non-bank institutions
Basel Committee considers limiting bank modelling choices
Study of internal models of counterparty credit risk finds ‘considerable’ variation between banks, raising the possibility of the Basel Committee takings steps to increase consistency
FSB report finds mixed progress on benchmark reforms
Report welcomes ‘good progress’ on many recommendations, particularly surrounding London fix, but identifies room for improvements
Norges Bank unlikely to follow others into negative territory, says Olsen
Governor flags the dangers and distortions from very low rates, but says Norway has more room to manoeuvre than most; contrasts ECB and Riksbank liquidity policies