News
Svensson launches fresh attack on leaning against the wind
Lars Svensson outlines “simple and transparent framework” he hopes will guide debate, as other papers challenge his results
Norway’s pension fund grows on rising equities
The world’s largest sovereign wealth fund grows, thanks to European equities, but low rates and oil prices remain long-term challenges
New NY Fed dataset shows weakening labour market
New York Fed unveils new, more granular labour market data; results so far indicate wage growth is still elusive
Malaysian central bank slams Ice and SGX over ringgit futures
Making them available offshore goes against foreign exchange rules, says Bank Negara Malaysia
European insurance resolution needs major reform – ESRB
Insurance sector’s contribution to systemic risk has increased but current tools are insufficient, report says
RBI closes in on ‘endgame’ in bank clean-up
Governor Urjit Patel says the central bank’s new powers have allowed it to overcome “severe” moral hazard problems; state-owned banks will need recapitalisation, he says
Russian central bank alleges criminal behaviour at several closed banks
Bank of Russia closes five banks and reports shortfalls or malpractice at four more
Denmark’s central bank proposes reforms to mortgage credit market
National Bank of Denmark suggests increasing competition between mortgage banks and other financial institutions as a way to reduce financial instability
Banks are scrambling to hit IFRS 9 deadline – survey
Many banks appear to have been caught off-guard by the complexity of adapting to IFRS 9; impact assessments still patchy, but some see provisioning needs up by 40% or more
Allan Meltzer (1928–2017)
Paying tribute to the contributions of the late Allan Meltzer, leading economist and Central Banking Editorial Advisory Board member
ECB cautions Slovenia over ‘critical infrastructure’ draft law
Legislation should not encroach on the central bank’s regulation of payments systems, says ECB
IMF’s Adrian sketches macro-financial model of term premium
Tobias Adrian outlines a new way of modelling financial cycles within a New Keynesian framework, which produces a good fit with empirical observations on the term structure
ECB council worries about euro’s strength, though recovery continues
Minutes of July’s monetary policy meeting suggest low inflation warrants loose policy, but recovery is gathering momentum
Philippines sees strong ‘hot money’ inflow despite currency weakness
Net inflow of foreign portfolio investments into Philippines hits six-month high, in contrast to weakness in peso
Maldives’ governor resigns as country remains in crisis
Governor says she is stepping down to join her husband in New York; country’s parliament is shut down amid political crisis
People: New chairman in Macau; Bosnia appoints vice-governor
Chan Sau San to lead Macau’s monetary authority; Bosnia appoints vice-governor; Nathan Sussman leaves the Bank of Israel after six years as head of research
FOMC divided on how to proceed with policy
Strong jobs growth, but below-target inflation leaves some members emphasising room to be patient, while others warn of a potential overshoot
China’s current credit trajectory is ‘dangerous’, IMF warns
Fund revises up China’s GDP growth forecast, but warns debt-fuelled growth is unsustainable
Regulators wary of machine learning in bank models
Banks acknowledge they “cannot hide behind a complex tool” to assess interconnectedness
Ghanaian central bank closes two commercial banks
IMF staff called for action in February over problems at some commercial banks
Bank of Colombia forecasts stronger growth as oil shock fades
The central bank expects higher GDP growth in 2018, as inflation remains within target and the peso’s exchange rate with the dollar stays stable
Wage growth may be stronger than headline figures suggest
San Francisco Fed researchers point to evidence that headline figures may overstate wage weakness; UK figures provide a positive surprise
Uzbekistan launches new banknote as inflation erodes value
New 50,000 som note is five times the value of the next largest banknote; security features include raised text, colour-changing foils and windows
German court refers ECB bond purchases to ECJ
“Doubtful” whether PSPP is authorised by German and European law, says court