News
Rajan sees policy stripped back to signalling function
RBI governor says weak rate transmission has left signalling as the primary channel for monetary policy; rate cut may come ‘outside the policy review cycle’ in early 2015
Charitable governor vows to deliver next interest rate decision in Christmas sweater
Mar Guðmundsson's promise part of national anti-bullying campaign; calls on central bankers to be ‘more open' to charitable causes and have ‘some fun with it'
National Bank of Angola works on deposit guarantee fund
National Bank of Angola has built a framework for a deposit guarantee fund in the country, which the governor says will cover ‘around 90% of depositors’
Ruble's plunge sparks speculation of central bank's return to markets
Biggest daily drop since 1998 presages next week's rate hike, say analysts; ruble surpasses Argentine peso as worst performing emerging market currency of 2014
South African Reserve Bank reflects on forecasts
Latest monetary policy review analyses the central bank's inflation forecasts between 2003 and 2014, finding they 'marginally' outperform outside efforts
Central Bank of Paraguay calls for new regulatory powers
Central Bank of Paraguay made a draft proposal to change the law, giving the institution powers to ‘change the prudential regulations according to market needs’
BoJ launches ‘plain language’ economics journal
‘Research Lab’ journal aims to convey Bank of Japan’s research in a ‘concise and plain’ fashion, with the publication tailored for mobile phone and tablet users
Spain looks to create $7.5 billion resolution fund
Spanish government publishes draft bill that will transpose the BRRD into national law and establish a national resolution fund, in preparation for the SRM
PBoC closes in on liberalisation with deposit insurance plan
Central bank moves closer to deposit rate liberalisation with proposals for deposit insurance fund, aiming to improve ‘discipline’ in banking sector and encourage smaller banks to compete
Swiss public reject gold initiative
Referendum sees 77.3% of vote against forcing the SNB to hold 20% of its assets in gold, and prevent it from ever selling them; central bank welcomes the result
ECB statistics chief calls for greater co-operation on data reporting
Aurel Schubert says crisis exposed bank's traditional aggregated statistics as ‘insufficient for comprehensive analysis'; new approach needs to avoid double reporting
Swiss National Bank relocates staff in Berne office renovation
Around 120 staff at the Swiss National Bank will be relocated to rented office space for three years, as the central bank’s Berne office is renovated
ECB research explores use of NSFR as macro-pru tool
Economists consider how the net stable funding ratio could be used to tackle the build-up of systemic liquidity risks; research is still at an early stage
People: BoE poaches IMF researcher; Nigeria's central bank deputy stands down
Michael Kumhof leaves the IMF to join the Bank of England as senior research advisor; Kingsley Moghalu leaves the Central Bank of Nigeria after five years; and more
Central Bank of Ireland plans staff increase
Governor Patrick Honohan says creation of SSM and new international regulations create ‘more work’ for the central bank; staff will increase by roughly 100 in 2015
Richmond Fed economist sees obstacles to Islamic finance in the US
Islamic finance in the US suffers from poor liquidity and problems meshing with the regulatory environment, researcher says
New payments regulator in UK may have uneasy relationship with BoE
Treasury committee highlights potential for conflicting objectives between newly formed payments regulator and the Bank of England; Tyrie says independence ‘pretty heavily circumscribed’
Malaysian banks will use cheque fees to incentivise electronic payments
To reduce the use of cash and cheques in the financial system, Bank Negara Malaysia is introducing a scheme whereby cheque fees will be used to incentivise e-payments
ECB fears ‘abrupt reversal’ of global search for yield
Central bank says an end to the hunt for yield is the main threat to financial stability in the eurozone; Constâncio concerned by impact on investors’ balance sheets
Ukraine gets new deputy in leadership reshuffle
Vladyslav Rashkovan promoted to acting deputy governor after just seven months at the central bank; board membership expanded to include head of personnel
Central banks weighing the benefits of bitcoin
Digital or ‘crypto’ currencies are controversial among central banks, but some see merits in their use and a few may even issue their own; more digital currency innovation likely in future
Constâncio wants to ‘broaden’ European macro-prudential toolkit
ECB vice-president wants a broader macro-prudential toolkit to help smooth the financial cycle, including new instruments for the shadow banking sector
PBoC action ‘lays foundation’ for liberalisation
Central bank emphasises movement towards interest rate liberalisation, saying last week’s rate cut was designed to combine financial reform and monetary policy
EC vice-president urges ECB to play its part in historic investment push
Jyrki Katainen highlights need for policy co-ordination as public-private EU investment fund is announced; ECB's Constâncio suggests no decision on QE in December