News
Buba’s Sarrazin under racial hatred investigation
German prosecutors launch investigations into racist comments made by Bundesbank executive board member Thilo Sarrazin; central bank maintains silence over controversy
Venezuela’s Merentes announces plans to reopen foreign dollar-denominated bond market
Central Bank of Venezuela president Nelson Merentes says market will accept bonds from South American neighbours
Fed’s response averted a depression: Blinder
A paper co-authored by former Federal Reserve governor Alan Blinder says the central bank’s extraordinary polices prevented the country from entering a second Great Depression
RBI attempts to soothe market jitters with more rate reviews
Reserve Bank of India will release four extra monetary policy reviews per year in a bid to keep investors calm; decision brings it in line with bulk of major central banks
Eurozone banks tighten standards as loan demand grows
European Central Bank’s second quarter lending survey shows banks toughening standards for borrowers, reflecting unease from sovereign debt crisis spillover; demand, meanwhile, increases
King parries claims Bank will get too much power
Bank of England governor Mervyn King says creation of the Financial Policy Committee will not make central bank too powerful
King stresses wait-and-see approach to rate-setting
Bank of England governor Mervyn King dismisses suggestions that one or another view dominates rate-setting committee; deputy Charles Bean reiterates question marks over effects of quantitative easing
India jerks in policy reins to choke off ballooning inflation
Reserve Bank of India levies bigger-than-forecast 50 basis point rate hike as data show inflation has spilled over from food to all areas; higher fuel prices, weather patterns key going forward
Quantitative easing doesn’t work: Woodford
National Bureau of Economic Research paper co-authored by Michael Woodford says quantitative easing has little impact, but credit easing does occasionally when targeting specific assets
Cross-border collateral may alleviate dollar funding strains: Emeap
Executives’ Meeting of East Asia Pacific Central Banks says crisis revealed shortcomings in regional money markets; swaps deals, cross-border collateral could alleviate some problems
Argentina lets non-banks into debt sale
Argentine central bank throws open note auction to companies, allowing them to circumvent secondary markets; move linked to rapid expansion of money supply
Natural gas discovery sparks debate in Lebanon over SWF
Potential discovery of natural gas off the shore of northern Israeli coast sparks debate among Lebanese government officials over whether to create a new sovereign wealth fund
Portuguese debt office agrees to post collateral to its dealers
Agency becomes one of first developed-market sovereigns to succumb to dealer pressure as costs of one-way collateral postings grow
Basel III features win governors' seal of approval
Group of Governors and Heads of Supervision, which oversees Basel Committee, okays parts of forthcoming Basel III proposals; calibration and phase-in arrangements to be finalised in September
Westminster spells out Bank’s importance in new regulatory structure
Bank-led committee will instruct prudential regulator and consumer body on policy; Treasury asks industry players for input on broadening new body’s objectives
EU stress tests detail exposure to Piigs debt
Stress tests show which banks are heavily exposed to riskiest sovereigns
UK lawmakers launch inquiry into regulatory revamp
Influential Treasury Select Committee says it will launch investigation of government plans for new regulatory structure
Key Basel III decisions due as oversight board gathers
Governors and heads of supervision will review recommendations brought forward from July 14-15 Basel Committee meeting
ECB insists stress tests are credible
ECB denies claims stress test scenarios were not severe enough
Kosovo’s governor arrested
Kosovo central bank governor Hashim Rexhep arrested on alleged corruption charges, central bank to be investigated
PBoC, MAS agree $22 billion currency swap
Arrangement follows similar swaps between China and seven other countries
Maiden Lane chief to head NY Fed banking supervision from 2011
New York Fed’s Sarah Dahlgren to replace William Rutledge as head of supervision; Rutledge to retire in December
Former HKMA head Yam set to join UBS board
Swiss investment bank UBS nominates HKMA former chief executive Joseph Yam as candidate to its board of directors.
Dodd-Frank starts to bite as Obama signs bill into law
US President Barack Obama draws a line under year-long legislative process, hailing bill’s benefits to consumers; ratings agencies flustered by exposure to ‘expert liability’