News
US Treasury confirms forex exemption from mandatory clearing
After two years of consideration, the US Treasury confirmed its decision to exempt forex swaps and forwards from mandatory clearing and exchange trading on Friday evening
Sarb seeks to improve interbank rate governance
South African central bank says review of Jibar has revealed interbank rate is ‘fundamentally sound’, but produces code of conduct to improve rate-setting process
BoE survey shows record-level concern about sovereign risk
Record 94% of respondents cite sovereign risk as a concern in the Bank of England’s latest systemic risk survey, but confidence in the UK financial system and funding markets rises
National Bank of Denmark rejects Liikanen report
Danish central bank governor says nations should be able to opt out of proposed Liikanen banking rules; favours bail-inable debt
ECB’s Cœuré champions retail payments integration
Benoît Cœuré says the Single Euro Payments Area increases efficiency and lowers costs; wants governing council to have a ‘self-regulatory focus’
Bank of Israel unveils details of new shekel banknotes
New banknote series to include security features that are ‘among the world’s most advanced’; first notes due to be introduced in second half of 2013
SNB’s Jordan warns against ‘overburdening’ monetary policy
Swiss National Bank chairman says macro-prudential instruments are better suited to address financial stability
Fed includes ‘doomsday scenario’ in next round of stress tests
Baseline, adverse and severely adverse scenarios specified in preparation for 2013 stress testing; 'severely adverse' would cover failure to resolve ‘fiscal cliff'
Svensson sheds light on Riksbank division
Sveriges Riksbank deputy governor explains schism in central bank’s monetary policy committee; says choice of repo-rate path is flawed
Basel Committee chief sets out next steps for regulation
Stefan Ingves reveals timescale for finalising liquidity coverage ratio and gives details of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision’s agenda for 2013
Centralbanking.com panellists split on CCP resolution
Bank of England’s Schooling Latter says central counterparties can be permitted to fail; Ruben Lee says politics will likely undermine efforts to avoid moral hazard, with central banks forced to act
Central bank gold purchases slow in third quarter
Growth of net central bank gold holdings in third quarter remains positive but decelerates compared with similar period in 2011; year-to-date holdings up 9%
Bundesbank concerned by escalating stability risks
German central bank’s financial stability review warns of a build-up of risks with echoes of past crises, but says the German financial system has become more robust during the past five years
Inflation jump exposed in BoE report
Bank of England adjusts inflation expectations after an October rise in inflation that some commentators branded as 'embarrassing'
Regulators called on to restrict loan modelling choices
Less modelling freedom makes sense, says loan data expert – and the alternatives would be far worse
BoJ deputy urges collaboration to tackle issues of ageing population
Kiyohiko Nishimura warns of ‘grave consequences’ if economic effects of demographic change are not given more attention; says regulation needs a clear focus
Asia can ease collateral squeeze, says Clearstream chief
The global thirst for high-grade collateral resulting from OTC clearing will require Asia to play a greater role in future, according to Jeffrey Tessler, chief executive of Clearstream
Yellen wants more transparency and a change in forward guidance
Federal Reserve vice-chair Janet Yellen calls for more transparency and supports replacing the calendar date in the Fed’s forward guidance with economic conditions needed to lift the funds rate
Latin American fiscal rules 'have helped some countries'
A study by the Bank of Spain finds the adoption of fiscal rules has helped some Latin American countries to reduce procyclical fiscal policy. But the rules are no panacea
RBI’s Sharma laments failure of derivatives markets in India
The interest rate swaps, credit default swaps and interest rate futures markets have all failed to take off as hedging markets in India, likely due to onerous regulation, says RBI executive director
Mutuals warn of capital threat from UK 'twin peaks' regulation
Guidance needed on treatment of with-profits fund surpluses under new supervisory regime
Netherlands Bank’s Knot says regulation is inadequate
Former Basel Committee risk head Klaas Knot and Bank of England’s Michael Cohrs say regulation is not sufficient to rehabilitate financial culture
Portuguese and Irish officials support banking union
Bank of Portugal governor and Central Bank of Ireland chief economist offer support for the creation of a deposit guarantee scheme and banking resolution fund in Europe
Japan heading for recession as economy contracts in third quarter
Bank of Japan’s back-to-back monetary easing in October was due to a significant weakening in the country’s economic outlook