News
Norway’s oil fund boosted by market rally and weak krone
Fund returns 5.3% in the first quarter, a new record in krone terms, led by strong equity returns and weak currency; fund continues to use clout to encourage ethical decisions by firms
Bank of Mexico delivers $2 billion surplus to the government
The 12.4% depreciation of the peso against the dollar in 2014 had a positive impact on the Bank of Mexico reserves, allowing the central bank to deliver a $2 billion surplus to the government
Riksbank ramps up QE
Asset purchase programme doubled but unexpected rate hold sees krona move higher; Riksbank highlights both signs of recovery and rising financial stability risks in new monetary policy report
PBoC chief economist dismisses talk of QE
Ma Jun addresses rumours central bank is looking to acquire municipal bonds as collateral in an LTRO-like move to lower financial risk and increase liquidity
Azerbaijan to legislate central bank recapitalisation
Parliament prepares draft law to recapitalise Central Bank of Azerbaijan after foreign exchange losses leave balance sheet in the red
Greek municipalities’ union delays cash transfer to central bank
The Greek government will not be able to tap the municipalities’ funds to pay the IMF until their demands are approved in parliament
Norges Bank’s Olsen backs ‘leaning against the wind’
Øystein Olsen presents evidence in favour of using monetary policy to lean against financial imbalances, which he says smooths inflation and output in the long run
People: Malaysia appoints assistant governor; BoJ board member approved
Bank Negara Malaysia names Mohd Adhari Belal Din as assistant governor, while Marzunisham Omar takes office at the IMF; Japanese government approves Yutaka Harada as BoJ board member
Belgian central bank embraces responsive design with new website
National Bank of Belgium launches new website with cleaner design and upgrades its statistical database, while wider central banking community look to improve online presence
Emerging markets close in on Basel III completion
Latest Basel Committee progress report shows most jurisdictions have moved significantly closer to full Basel III implementation, with emerging markets making particularly rapid progress
Nouy sees banking union driving deeper integration
ECB report finds financial integration back to levels achieved before sovereign debt crisis; Danièle Nouy expects banking union to help create ‘deeper integration of a higher quality’
Nigeria central bank orders banks to disclose bad debtors
Banks in Nigeria will have to publish lists of ‘delinquent debtors’ starting May 1, in an attempt to battle the ‘rising trend of non-performing loans the industry’
El Salvador central bank sells 80% of its gold reserves
Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador sold 80% of its gold holdings last month and invested the proceeds in dollars; Venezuela carries out $1 billion gold swap deal
Constâncio tells national supervisors to ‘recognise and reciprocate’ regulatory measures
ECB vice-president suggests ‘automatic and mandatory reciprocity’ would benefit a range of macro-prudential measures in the eurozone; only one case of voluntary action to date
Kuwait breaks new ground with regulatory data release
Central Bank of Kuwait releases quarterly ‘financial soundness’ indicators including capital adequacy and regulatory liquidity; few central banks release similar data at such high frequencies
Bank of Portugal ‘unprecedented’ decision over BES split questioned in lawsuit
Central bank’s decision to remove a loan from Oak Finance to BES from the ‘good bank’ created in the wake of its failure is challenged in court by New Zealand Superannuation Fund
Iranian governor floats plan for new IMF training centre
Valiollah Seif puts plan for new Iran-based IMF regional training centre to Christine Lagarde; says inflation outlook has improved since president Hassan Rouhani took office
Argentina boosts central bank reserves with bond issuance
Proceeds from Argentina's bond auction earlier this week have been deposited in the central bank reserves, putting them out of reach of holdout funds suing the South American country
Draghi says ECB may have to reassess Greek emergency liquidity
ECB president says situation in Greece may force governing council to revisit the terms of emergency liquidity, as another round of negotiations breaks down
Riksbank seeks greater clarity with redesigned monetary policy report
Shorter report aims to focus more on analysis and less on detailed data reporting, with new layout to boost readability; head of forecasting says design process drew on years of feedback
SNB’s Danthine: traders wrong to paint Swiss franc surge as black swan
It was 'absolutely certain' that SNB would end Swiss franc floor, says vice-chair of the governing board
Sarb expands risk management framework
The risk management framework of the South African Reserve Bank now includes policy risks and will soon include financial stability policy, reveals deputy governor
RBNZ hires monetary policy advisers as inflation drops to 15-year low
Graeme Wheeler says advisers ‘bring fresh viewpoints'; assistant governor says monetary policy can do little to influence inflation outcomes in ‘near term'
Legal questions force Swedish FSA to scrap amortisation rule
Financial Supervisory Authority suspends its plan to force households to pay down their mortgages over time in response to doubts over its mandate; Ingves says policy still needed