News
Stockton review finds Bank of England’s forecasting ability wanting
A study commissioned by the Court of the Bank of England finds biases in forecasting and a lack of allowance for lateral thinking at the UK central bank
LCR drives expanding Asian liquidity swap market
Insurers are increasingly providing liquidity swaps to banks in what is viewed as a growing trend in Asia
FSB reveals G-Sib additional capital charges breakdown
FSB says four major banks to be hit by top 2.5% additional capital buffer as three banks leave and two are added to the list of global systemically important banks
Albania opens new currency centre
Bank of Albania has opened a new currency issue centre and mint as part of a wide-ranging property overhaul at the central bank
BoE’s Bean sceptical of ‘helicopter money’; scotches calls to ‘cancel’ gilts
The Bank of England has received criticism for quantitative easing failing to normalise economic growth. But deputy governor Charlie Bean says some alternatives look even less attractive
Local trade repositories are necessary, say HKMA’s Lee
The benefits of local trade repositories outweigh the possible disadvantages of multiple reporting requirements, says executive director of HKMA’s financial infrastructure unit
FSB finds OTC derivatives reforms riddled with gaps
Progress report shows market infrastructure is ready to meet G-20 commitments for OTC derivatives reform but many jurisdictions are still some way from implementing legislation
Constâncio: EU macro research needs greater engagement
The vice-president of the European Central Bank says macro-prudential research has yielded excellent empirical tools; needs greater support from academics and policy-makers
Hurricane Sandy disrupts Federal Reserve operations
New York Federal Reserve suspended operations for a day as hurricane battered eastern US; temporary measures taken to support banking in face of disruptions to power, communications and staffing
Ballooning balance sheet yields further ‘profit’ for SNB
Swiss National Bank’s profits show continued growth in third quarter with the largest contribution from foreign exchange holdings; balance sheet has increased 45% during the year
CCP structure increases systemic risk, says IMF economist
The likely increase in the number of central counterparties will create more 'pockets of risk', says senior economist
RBI pushes government to act on fiscal consolidation promises
Reserve Bank of India chief calls on government to make concrete progress on fiscal consolidation as central bank holds rates but cuts reserve requirements
BoE’s Haldane debates banking reformation with Occupy
Bank of England’s Andrew Haldane discusses the banking system with social inequality activist group; urges bank reform rather than 'banker bashing'
BIS’s Cecchetti envisages world without G-Sifis
Stephen Cecchetti says the global financial system needs to reach a stage where no banks are globally systemically important; market discipline critical to stability but not sufficient
BoJ mirrors BoE’s FLS and steps up easing
Bank of Japan launches scheme with similarities to Bank of England’s funding for lending and steps up the size of its asset purchase programme by $138 billion
Spain’s ‘bad bank’ structure revealed
Bank of Spain releases the details of new ‘bad bank’ Asset Management Company; hopes to clear up banks’ balance sheets while producing a 14–15% return on equity for stakeholders
FSB task force proposes enhancements to risk disclosure
Private-sector task force organised by the Financial Stability Board outlines seven principles designed to improve banks’ risk disclosure, with implementation of some sections to begin immediately
Basel Committee reports slow progress ahead of G-20 meeting
Report submitted to G-20 leaders ahead of summit shows just six of 29 systemically important banks are likely to be subject to Basel III rules when deadline is passed
Draghi wants European veto over national budgets
ECB president Mario Draghi says he supports German proposal that would centralise European sovereignty; believes divide with Bundesbank president can be overcome
Dutch gold also unverified
Central banks with second, third and ninth largest gold holdings in the world admit to not physically verifying overseas gold; but some host central banks do not allow external auditors into vaults
Bundestag approves Germany’s Financial Stability Act
German lawmakers approve new macro-prudential powers for financial supervisors, with the Deutsche Bundesbank gaining a key monitoring role
RBNZ’s new governor rejects QE and capital controls
Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s Graeme Wheeler sees no need to introduce a ‘desperate’ measure such as quantitative easing in the country; rules out use of capital controls to limit kiwi dollar appreciation
Banking supervision gets leadership overhaul in Spain
Bank of Spain names new director-general and associate director-general at the top of its banking supervision department as initial IMF review of financial assistance programme is released
Bundesbank reveals specific location details of gold holdings
New details of the Bundesbank’s foreign gold holdings released as Bank of Italy admits also not physically verifying gold held overseas despite having world’s third largest gold reserves