News
HKMA plans launch of new HK$500 note
Hong Kong Monetary Authority says banknote will enter circulation next week
Basel surveys literature on links between finance and real economy
Basel Committee on Banking Supervision’s Research Task Force identifies three transmission channels between financial sector and real economy
King acknowledges risk of wage-price spiral as inflation climbs to double Bank’s target
Inflation of 4% in January prompts Bank of England governor Mervyn King to pen another letter to the chancellor; letter acknowledges mounting inflationary pressures
Fed’s Tarullo outlines OTC derivatives reform agenda
Federal Reserve governor Daniel Tarullo stresses importance of central counterparties, close scrutiny of market participants
Belgium’s Praet to be nominated to ECB executive board
Eurozone finance ministers recommend National Bank of Belgium executive director Peter Praet to European Central Bank executive board
Taiwanese central bank disputes name change
Regional group’s use of Chinese Taipei label after mainland China’s entry sparks row with Taiwan’s central bank
Fed’s Raskin urges lenders to put housing market before profits
Federal Reserve Board member Sarah Raskin calls on mortgage service providers to take moral “high road” and place recovery in housing market before profits
Spanish banks’ ECB reliance drops
Spanish banks’ borrowing from European Central Bank declines just over 20% compared to December
Bond purchase frictions convinced Weber to drop out of ECB race
Bundesbank's Axel Weber says divergent views on ECB’s bond purchases meant he was no longer an acceptable candidate to succeed Trichet; stresses he was right to stick to his guns
Weber to quit Buba in April
Bundesbank confirms president will step down in coming months; term was due to end in 2012
Lebanon’s Salameh defends scandal-hit bank
Bank of Lebanon governor Riad Salameh offers support to Lebanese Canadian Bank after accusations by US Treasury of ties to illicit activities and terrorist organisations
Bank amends collateral rules for sovereign debt
Revisions adjust ‘narrow’ and ‘wide’ bands for eligible collateral; change is for liquidity reasons
UBS investment chief claims Swiss capital ratios too high, won’t hold
Chief executive of UBS’s investment bank Carsten Kengeter suggests 19% capital requirement may be watered down; says rules will “always be broken”
DSK moots reserves role for SDR
IMF's Strauss-Kahn says ‘stockpiling’ special drawing right would create a more stable global monetary order
Warsh quits Fed
Federal Reserve board member Kevin Warsh plans to step down from Fed seven years before term ends
IMF guilty of ‘group think’, says Fund watchdog
Independent Evaluation Office says IMF’s cohesiveness in period leading up to the financial crisis prevented fund from spotting impending risks
SEC moves to cut ratings out of registration requirements
US Securities and Exchange Commission proposes rule striking investment-grade rating condition from short-form registration process for companies issuing securities; move mandated by Dodd-Frank
FSA, Bank call for closer dialogue with auditors
Financial Services Authority releases draft code targeted at enhancing communication with auditors
Egypt's banks gradually reopen
Central Bank of Egypt says 396 more branches will reopen on Thursday and resume normal working hours; stock exchange also to reopen
Weber does not plan on second term: Bundesbank source
Bundesbank president Axel Weber set to quit central bank in spring 2012 at the latest
Israel’s Fischer calls for international FX rules
Bank of Israel governor Stanley Fischer calls on IMF to draw up set of international rules on foreign exchange intervention
Britain gets banks to agree on £10 billion boost to SMEs
UK’s chancellor George Osborne strikes deal with Britain’s largest banks to lend £10 billion more in funds to SMEs; Bank of England to report on banks’ contribution in next Trends in Lending report
Bank’s inflation argument ‘fanciful’: ex-MPC’s Julius
Former Bank of England rate-setter DeAnne Julius says inflation expectations risk becoming unmoored; monetary policy acting for financial stability, ex rate-setter Tim Besley adds
Ex-Bank economists parry fears of wage-price spiral
Upsurge in inflation will not pass through into wages, economists at Fathom Consulting believe