News
Norway’s SWF adds further $560m of property to portfolio
Government Pension Fund Global continues progress towards 5% of fund invested in real estate with purchase of 50% stake in UK’s Meadowhall shopping centre
Conundrum facing reserve managers set to continue, say Nalm speakers
Central bank reserve managers to face further challenges about where to allocate their resources as reserve levels look set grow
Iranian central bank struggles to support plummeting rial
‘Foreign exchange centre’ set up by Central Bank of Iran to regulate exchange rate as rial falls sharply in value; fears emerge that currency free-fall could cause hyperinflation
Hungarian government abandons central bank transaction tax
Hungary’s minister for the national economy says transaction tax will not be applied to central bank following pressure from European authorities and the IMF
New rate-setting communication deliberated by Fed
Minutes from the FOMC’s September meeting show consideration of a switch in the way interest rate decisions are disclosed as well as motivation behind QE3
Singapore moves to prevent property price bubble
MAS introduces restrictions on loan tenures and lowers loan-to-value ratios in a bid to stem risk of price bubble in property market
EBA positive on capital buffer progress
European Banking Authority says majority of banks met 9% capital requirement by June deadline; four banks fell below threshold and are receiving support
Bank of Tanzania director says country is securing price stability
Bank of Tanzania director says inflation is gradually coming under control as IMF report praises robust economic activity. But challenges remain noteable in the energy sector
IMF develops flexible approach to funding to meet drawdowns, annual report says
Annual report says IMF has taken steps to improve the flexibility of funding instruments in face of ‘fragile recovery’; expects continued strong demand for funding
Draghi says no backstop after OMTs; praises Spanish progress
ECB president Mario Draghi discusses OMTs, and the success of reforms in Spain and Portugal as ECB holds rates at 0.75%
Hackers target Riksbank in denial-of-service attack
Attack leaves Swedish central bank website down for five hours with government and parliament websites also hit; follows hacking of Central Bank of the Philippines website
Bank of Greece abandons 9% core capital requirement
Central bank suspends plans to raise core Tier I capital ratio as banks struggle to raise equity and data show contraction in lending continues
Zambia unveils new currency features
The Bank of Zambia reveals images and security features of new, rebased, currency; now comprises six banknotes and four coins
National Bank of Moldova seeks confidence boost with five-year plan
The first strategic plan formed by the National Bank of Moldova aims to improve public perception of the central bank and strengthen the financial system
ECB research finds European retail payment costs about 1% of GDP
Study measures costs of retail payments across a sample of European countries; finds costs of retail payments account for a significant proportion of GDP
Malaysia’s Zeti says Asia must prepare for ‘new global landscape’
Zeti Akhtar Aziz highlights challenges due to the changing world economy following the financial crisis; says Asia is ‘well ahead’ with implementing financial stability policies
Liikanen review calls for ring-fencing of banks’ investment arms
Report on reforming structure of EU banking system recommends separating investment arms from retail operations for banks with large trading operations
MAS head Menon outlines corporate governance challenges
Ravi Menon says a ‘culture of cynical greed’ must not be allowed to take root but that strengthening corporate governance should not necessarily involve creating more rules
Reserve Bank of Australia unexpectedly cuts rates
Board of Australian central bank lowers benchmark interest rate following weaker growth outlook as inflation falls further below target rate
New report calls for CCP resolution regime
Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation report recommends resolution regime for 'risky' central counterparty clearings
Bernanke defends Fed’s loose monetary policy
Ben Bernanke says Federal Reserve’s accommodative stance, including a third round of quantitative easing, is justified; denies Fed is encouraging poor fiscal policy-making
Relative riskiness of alternative reserve assets falls, say CBP panellists
Negative real yields and credit concerns about some G7 currencies make alternative investments more attractive to reserve managers compared with five years ago, say CBP webinar panellists; role of gold challenged
Bank of Uganda rejects legal challenge over NBC seizure
Ugandan central bank questions the legitimacy of court order blocking its takeover of a commercial bank and the subsequent sales of its assets
European Commission criticises Basel Committee findings
Assessment report finds EU and US ‘materially non-compliant’ with some areas of Basel framework; European Commission questions report’s methodology and use of evidence