News
Trinidad governor implies $500m injection failed to solve US dollar shortfall
Trinidad and Tobago’s Jwala Rambarran says domestic economy faces ongoing shortfalls of US dollars despite $14 billion in official sector forex assets; calls for diversification in the economy
Bundesbank calls for harmonisation in CMU response
The Deutsche Bundesbank responds to the European Commission’s capital markets union proposals, calling for greater harmonisation and transparency but warning of burden
PBoC and ECB announce ‘successful’ swap line tests
Tests in April and November provided ‘symbolic amounts’ of euro and renminbi liquidity, involving a ‘limited number’ of counterparties
ECB welcomes draft Portuguese law on banknote production
Proposals would remove requirement that Bank of Portugal must own 51% of legal entity responsible for banknote production; could pave way for closer co-operation with other NCBs
Irish central bank defends retention payments to key staff
Ireland’s central bank has defended its decision to pay retention payments to key members of staff despite criticism by local politicians; a senior civil servant will look into the payments
Riksbank steps up debt warnings in stability report
An absence of measures to address high asset prices and rising debt could result in a ‘serious’ shock with ‘great’ consequences for the economy, Swedish central bank warns
ECB flags threat of ‘abrupt reversal’ in risk premia
Latest review identifies two ‘medium-level systemic risks’ to the eurozone's financial stability, weak profitability prospects for banks and a potential ‘sharp adjustment’ in risk premia
Nigeria cuts rates to encourage growth in ‘bold’ decision
The central bank lowers the policy rate by 200bps as part of a package of measures aimed at supporting growth and easing credit conditions
China permits central banks to trade forex derivatives based on Isda agreements
China allows derivatives trading based on international standard agreement for the first time; applies only to sovereign investors and foreign exchange derivatives
Fed to encourage supervisory staff to air divergent views
Federal Reserve will develop practices encouraging staff to exchange and respond to divergent views in 2016; New York Fed and Richmond Fed boost supervisory resources following review
EBA: European bank capital improving but concerns remain over profits and assets
European banks are improving their capital and leverage ratios but are suffering from low levels of profitability and problems with non-performing loans, transparency exercise finds
BoE advised to publish record of joint MPC/FPC meetings
Treasury Committee advises Bank of England to publish material from joint meetings of the MPC and FPC
EC plans full eurozone deposit insurance by 2024
Proposals outline gradual introduction of common deposit insurance in the eurozone between 2017 and 2024; size of fund equivalent to 0.8% of covered deposits, estimated at €43bn
Hungarian central bank buys controlling stake in Budapest stock exchange
Hungary’s central bank buys 68.8% share in country’s stock exchange, saying the move was necessary to ensure adequate flows of capital to domestic businesses
Distributed ledgers could impact FMIs, report finds
Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures report on digital currencies sees potential for technology to have a ‘much broader application beyond payments’
Canada looks for new deputy as Côté prepares to stand down
Bank of Canada begins search for deputy governor, stressing importance of experience using macroeconomic models and communicating views
High expectations could be holding Japanese inflation down, Shirai warns
Study of US and Japanese households reveals, somewhat counterintuitively, that high inflation expectations may be a factor behind lower actual inflation
Economists outline improved DSGE forecasting method
Bank of England working paper attempts to improve forecast performance by using a multi-step approach to estimating parameters, delivering what the authors say are ‘significant’ improvements
Egyptian presidency picks deputy governors and board members at central bank
President el-Sisi appoints a new deputy governor and three new members to Egypt’s central bank board, while one incumbent deputy receives a second term
HKMA promotes 'entirely paperless' e-cheques in PR push
Central bank to raise awareness through multimedia infomercials ahead of December 7 launch; e-cheques will lead Hong Kong into new era of electronic payments, says HKMA deputy
Sweden faces ‘economic crisis’ unless government calms housing market, governor warns
Sweden’s government needs to take urgent action to calm rapidly rising house prices or face a possible economic crisis, Stefan Ingves warns; attacks lack of clarity over macro-prudential policy
Central Bank of Kenya to reassess supervision following bank collapses
Central bank begins review of banking supervision following collapse of two domestic banks; new bank licensing on hold until further notice
‘We will do what we must’ to hit target, says Draghi
ECB governor hints at further easing at next month’s monetary policy meeting
Al-Wazir reflects on eight tough years at the PMA
After two terms leading the Palestine Monetary Authority, Jihad Al-Wazir tells Daniel Hinge about his efforts to manage operations in a warzone and improve the central bank against the odds