News
Fed considers delaying stress tests for large banks
Federal Reserve considering altering the implementation timeline for stress tests required under Dodd-Frank; follows concerns raised about immediate effect date of changes
Shake-up of Nigerian currency announced
Sanusi Lamido Sanusi outlines plans for “restructuring” of currency; changes include introduction of new 5,000 naira banknote and improved security features on existing notes
Filipino banks offered help after tropical storm
Variety of measures put in place to ensure banks in areas affected by tropical storm and severe monsoon can assist with rebuilding efforts; penalties for missed payments set aside for example
Outgoing Serbian vice-governor fearful over repercussions of law change
Bojan Marković voices concerns over long-term impact of changes to Serbia’s central bank law; says rushed passage of legislation and change in senior management could cause problems
Central Bank of Cyprus calls in external investigators
Professional services firm to look into the circumstances that led two Cypriot banks to seek state support; investigation starts today
Barbados celebrates central bank anniversary with new banknote
Redesigned note entered circulation this month to commemorate the central bank’s 40th birthday; security features same as those found in previous currency
Riksbank deputy describes “surprisingly strong” economy
Kerstin af Jochnick says Swedish economy has performed well during the past quarter, but weak performance in the eurozone has caused large appreciation of krona and uncertain inflation path
Former MPC member blasts “unduly powerful” future BoE governor
Ex-MPC member Kate Barker says new macro-prudential policy-maker should not be independent of government; shake-up of banking regulation system in the UK will leave governor too powerful
RBA makes progress with card surcharging guidelines
Industry calls on Reserve Bank of Australia to provide “more prescriptive” guidance than draft rules issued in June; final version set to be published in October
Zambia sets rebased currency introduction date
Bank of Zambia reveals new currency will enter use at the start of next year; urges businesses to begin preparations now
Carney discusses the “right kind” of globalisation
Governor of the Bank of Canada explains how globalisation can be harnessed to create prosperity for Canadians; says responsibility for past mistakes lay with many parties
Bank of Namibia cuts rates due to uncertain economic outlook
Central bank reduces benchmark rate by 50 basis points; says cut necessary to support economy despite inflationary pressure and “rapid” growth in consumer credit
HKMA names Huo as new PBoC advisor
Huo Yingli will take over from Mu Huaipeng as the PBoC official seconded to offer financial co-operation assistance between China and Hong Kong
MAS chairman calls for shift away from structural reform
The Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Tharman Shanmugaratnam believes there is too much emphasis on structural reform when dealing with systemic risk; calls for a change in culture and supervision
ECB hiring may not be enough to cope with workload, says Ipso chief
Union head says European Central Bank’s plan to recruit 40 additional staff to help cope with increased workload is unlikely to be sufficient
RBA refutes fresh allegations of bribery cover-up
Reserve Bank of Australia denies claims that a document was hidden from investigators; says governor Glenn Stevens did not mislead a parliamentary committee
Denmark names new governor
ATP pension fund head Lars Rohde named as new governor of the National Bank of Denmark
China is entering crisis “danger zone”, says BoJ’s Nishimura
High real estate prices and an aging demographic profile in China are reaching a stage where they could trigger a financial crisis, says Bank of Japan deputy governor Kiyohiko Nishimura
Bundesbank criticises ECB bond-buying proposals
Decision to share solvency risks should be taken by European governments not the ECB, says Deutsche Bundesbank; warns German government debt ratio likely to rise this year
BoE counters concerns raised in Fixing Libor report
The Bank of England says new laws and processes will give the central bank greater regulatory powers in the future to deal with episodes similar to Libor
Some CPI indexes inappropriate for inflation targeting, says Leyland
Royal Statistical Society vice-president Jill Leyland assesses difficulties in constructing accurate inflation indexes; says consumer price indexes will “never be far from controversy”
Japan seeks changes to Dodd-Frank extraterritoriality on swaps
The Japanese authorities have asked their US counterpart to reconsider extraterritorial rules on swaps and defer regulation of cross-border over-the-counter derivatives regulation for at least a year
Dombret urges international collaboration on regulatory reform
Deutsche Bundesbank’s Andreas Dombret wants greater international co-ordination on regulatory reform; says countries should honour their commitments
Robert Pringle’s Viewpoint: Restoring trust in finance
The financial crisis and numerous scandals have shattered confidence in banks and financial markets. What can central bankers do to restore trust in the financial system?