News
Switzerland passes Basel III implementation test
Assessment finds country ‘compliant’ overall with Basel III capital framework, although a number of regulations had to be tweaked to make the grade
Jane Austen ‘quietly waiting in wings’ to feature on UK banknote
Bank of England governor Mervyn King says Jane Austen is a likely candidate to feature on next £10 note; fails to appease concerns over all-male banknote roster
BIS's Caruana wins term extension as Cecchetti prepares to quit Basel
Jaime Caruana to stay at BIS to 2017, but Stephen Cecchetti will leave in November this year; RBA's Debelle and FDIC's Verley take up other Basel posts
BoE and PBoC open ‘very important’ renminbi swap line
Bank of England and People’s Bank of China establish three-year 200 billion yuan swap line; fourth largest of its kind and first in European Union
Frenkel to rejoin Bank of Israel as Fischer replacement
Former Bank of Israel governor nominated to replace Stanley Fischer; decision surprises some as deputy governor Karnit Flug appeared to have Fischer's backing for the role
PBoC maintains hard line on liquidity
People’s Bank of China insists there is a ‘reasonable’ level of liquidity in financial sector and says commercial banks are responsible for their own levels of reserves
Central banks need to start tightening policy, says BIS
The Bank for International Settlements says easy monetary policy has reached the end of what it can usefully do, warning that continuing QE will exacerbate risks and delay necessary reforms
PBoC leaves banking sector sweating over liquidity squeeze
Tight credit conditions persist as the People’s Bank of China remains silent about liquidity injections into increasingly strained banking sector
ESRB issues macro-pru advice, as IMF warns over possible conflicts
European Systemic Risk Board recommends five ‘intermediate objectives' for macro-prudential policies in the EU; IMF paper warns of potential conflicts with micro-prudential measures
Bangladesh governor targets stronger debt market
Atiur Rahman concerned by public and private sector reliance on bank funding, but says government should wait until after elections to issue first sovereign bond denominated in US dollars
ESM direct recapitalisation gets go-ahead
Eurogroup reaches agreement over main features of direct bank recapitalisation under the European Stability Mechanism, but commentators warn the deal could still falter; CRD IV also adopted
UK's Royal Mint brings back golden guinea to mark 350th anniversary
New £2 coin designed in the style of the now disused guinea, featuring the crest of King George III; coin will enter circulation later this year
Fed's monetary policy deviates from best practice, says Bullard
Fed monetary policy has deviated from central bank best practice and should be used ‘to meet policy objectives, not calendar objectives', says St Louis Fed president
BoE's King says expectations less important than economic conditions
Bank of England governor says focus should be on creating the right economic conditions for normalising monetary policy rather than talking people through it
Bernanke plays down Jackson Hole importance
Kansas Fed's renowned symposium is a conference sponsored by just ‘one of the 12 reserve banks' says Bernanke, who declined to comment on his future following FOMC meeting
Hong Kong launches renminbi Hibor fixing
New offshore benchmark rates to be produced starting next week; HKMA to provide oversight and surveillance of contributing banks' internal systems to ensure 'integrity' of submissions
SNB reaffirms commitment to exchange rate limit
Thomas Jordan says Swiss economy continues to face 'major challenges'; Fritz Zurbrügg outlines efforts to control risks arising from the central bank's $475 billion foreign currency investments
UK banks told to find £13.4 billion in extra capital
Bank of England’s PRA says Lloyds and RBS need to raise extra £10.2 billion; Osborne says government will ‘do what it can’ to return both banks to the private sector
Chinese banks may face shadow finance credit crisis, say rating agencies
Strong links between the regulated and unregulated credit sectors in China due to the use of wealth management products and lending to shadow banks pose a systemic threat to Chinese banks
Reckless bankers should face jail, says UK parliamentary report
UK Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards delivers raft of recommendations on how to cultivate better responsibility among bankers, banks and their regulators
Bank of England’s FPC needs expanding, says UK parliamentary review
Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards delivers verdict on UK’s new regulatory architecture; recommends appointing additional external member to FPC to shift power away from bank insiders
PMA launches three-pronged social media strategy
Palestine Monetary Authority launches Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts, putting it among the relatively few central banks worldwide that use multiple social media
UK parliamentary review slams 'half-hearted' Bank of England reform
Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards calls for overhaul of Court of Directors; dismisses central bank's Oversight Committee as ‘half-hearted at best'
RBNZ faces calls to dilute governor's power
Bill introduced by New Zealand's Green Party would see monetary policy set by the whole board and force central bank to publish minutes