News
ECB’s Cœuré says higher inflation target not solution to zero lower bound
Benoît Cœuré says raising the inflation target or abolishing the currency is not the right way to make monetary policy more effective; structural reforms a better use of political capital
BoE asks public to nominate artist for next £20 note
Mark Carney says next individual on £20 note will be a visual artist, and asks members of the public to nominate people from the field; committee will then draw up a shortlist
Minneapolis Fed essay suggests new focus for FOMC comms
Sam Schulhofer-Wohl argues the FOMC should talk more about what it is trying to accomplish with its monetary policy; Minneapolis Fed staff rewrite January statement to illustrate point
Repo market coping with liquidity regulations for now, panellists say
Participants at Euroclear’s Collateral Conference say repo markets have delivered new efficiency gains to keep collateral supply up, but the outlook over the coming year looks less certain
Zeti deems shadow loan regulation ‘highly effective'
Bank Negara Malaysia governor says macro-prudential regulation of non-banks has stabilised the overheated property market, but IMF warns of risks lurking in the shadows
Evans: Fed must keep rates low to protect target symmetry
Chicago Fed president sees no serious costs with ‘modestly overshooting’ 2%, but is concerned about potential damage to inflation expectations of tightening too soon
ECB’s Mersch warns against blindly pinning hopes on macro-prudential policy
Yves Mersch says there is much to learn about how tools work; sees potential for ‘conflicts of competence’ between micro- and macro-prudential authorities
Esma official slams CFTC margin rules
US rules driven by competitive rather than prudential concerns, Fabrizio Planta charges
In search of a better measure of inflation
Hedonic adjustments offer a way of tackling bias in the CPI, albeit at a cost, but new research suggests even these may be misrepresenting inflation – with broad implications for the economy
BoE outlines capital markets union proposals
Central bank sets out policy recommendations designed to deliver better functioning capital markets in Europe; argues institutional change, such as greater centralisation, is not necessary
IMF urges Irish authorities to ‘enhance’ central bank independence
Report warns legal framework could ‘potentially introduce political considerations’ into governance arrangements; finds uncompetitive pay may be hurting ability to hire and retain supervisors
Bank of Canada plans changes to operating framework
Changes would see Canadian central bank cut back on purchase of government bonds through primary market, while intervening less frequently in overnight market
Mario Draghi sees large toolkit as ‘standard’ in 2020
ECB president tells Olivier Blanchard the central bank will retain a broad set of monetary instruments in five years’ time; insists QE will not be tapered early
Kazakhstan proposes sweeping changes to monetary policy framework
Central bank plans root-and-branch reform of its monetary policy with move to inflation targeting to be accompanied by revamped governance, communications, economic modelling and more
Blanchard to step down as IMF chief economist
Olivier Blanchard will leave in September and join Peterson Institute as senior fellow; Lagarde praises him for ‘spurring a fundamental rethinking of macroeconomic policy’
Top Thai regulator advises Asean neighbours to open markets slowly
Bank of Thailand regulatory policy director warns Laos and Vietnam liberalisation could cripple their banks if conducted too quickly
Malaysia deputy governor says better credit reporting crucial to Asean integration
Asean Economic Community faces challenging test of successfully integrating regional financial markets, Bank Negara's Muhammad bin Ibrahim says
Leverage ratio begins to bite for FX derivatives
The capital-intensive rule for banks, which has already affected the rates and credit world, is starting to hit FX - with clients expected to bear the brunt of higher costs
European supervisors want better data to support securitisation stress tests
‘Joint Committee’ proposes numerous disclosure requirements for securitisations, including giving investors enough information to stress test purchased products
Cœuré and Dudley question case for policy co-ordination
ECB board member says central banks can ‘free themselves’ from influence of global financial cycle; NY Fed president says Fed should focus on promoting growth and stability in US
BoE unearths new evidence on UK productivity puzzle
Latest inflation report includes new research suggesting temporary ‘compositional’ factors may be dragging on productivity growth; inflation path revised up slightly and growth down
RBNZ targets Auckland with new macro-prudential plans
Central bank wants to impose stricter macro-prudential rules on lending to property investors in Auckland; will also force banks to hold more capital against those loans from October
Finma's Branson calls for Basel leverage ratio hike
The minimum Basel leverage ratio for large banks should be higher than 3%, says Finma CEO Mark Branson, noting "the world has moved on" since it was initially set
Greece talks more positive but time running out, says Varoufakis
Finance minister says Greece and its creditors are increasingly seeing eye-to-eye, but a deal is needed in the next ‘couple of weeks’; country manages to scrape together IMF repayment