News
Yellen hits back at critics over 'discriminatory' treatment of foreign banks
Following EU complaints, Fed chair tells Senate panel that new regulations are essentially the same as those faced by US banks abroad; Bitcoin is outside Fed's remit
FX Invest Europe: Deutsche Bundesbank official praises Fed’s QE exit strategy
Christine Glockmann says other central bankers may copy Fed’s communication over QE tapering; says eurozone economic policy suffers from member states 'bickering'
Blanchard leads calls for more ‘democratic input’ in central bank decision-making
Viral Acharya, Olivier Blanchard, Richard Fisher, Otmar Issing and Klaas Knot debate new ‘paradigm’ of central banks with ever more responsibilities; Blanchard prescribes an injection of democracy
Markets see PBoC hand in RMB depreciation
The sharp fall in the RMB at the end of February is thought to have been a deliberate action by China’s central bank to engineer the development of a two-way market in the currency
Ukraine calls on IMF help as NBU focuses on financial stability
New government asks IMF and other international lenders for a bail-out; interim president tells central bank staff they must restore public confidence in the banking system
Iceland MPC fears debt relief package will boost inflation
Central Bank of Iceland frets over economic impact of government's plan to relieve 100,000 households of $1.32 billion in debt
Armenia pips Kazakhstan to coin award
Central Bank of Armenia commemorative coin triumphs over National Bank of Kazakhstan offering in an Italian competition for Best Coin of the Year
Central Bank of Brazil hike 'signals end' to year-long tightening cycle
Central bank raises benchmark Selic rate by 25 basis points to 10.75% in move that analysts say means a lower peak is probable
Rajan sets out five-point plan to tackle food inflation
Reserve Bank of India governor says monetary policy can help control food inflation, but insists the government 'has an important role to play'
IMF praises full-tilt reform at Paraguayan central bank
The central bank has introduced a string of reforms recently, including an overnight lending facility, a tighter benchmark rate and bi-annual inflation reports
Georgians vote on new currency symbol
National Bank of Georgia has shortlisted five designs in the race to represent the national currency, the lari
Pakistan looks to raise public profile of Islamic finance
The State Bank of Pakistan launches a five-year strategic plan to develop Islamic finance domestically and abroad; sets focus on improving public perception of the industry
Banks could be forced to leave UK if home regulators are found wanting
Draft rules published today by the UK banking supervisor put pressure on non-EEA countries to up supervision of banks that want to do business in London
Europe card fraud up after five-year decline, ECB data show
Growth in online shopping blamed for increase in card payments fraud, which totalled €1.33 billion within the Single Euro Payments Area in 2012 - up 21% on the previous year
Pope to set up Vatican central bank
Vatican City set to establish its own central bank as Pope Francis looks to overhaul a financial system that has suffered accusations of corruption
Norges Bank review calls on MPC to relinquish control of wealth fund
Annual report published today raises ‘serious concern' over monetary policy committee's capacity to oversee $830 billion wealth fund with most members having other full-time jobs
Fed transcripts reveal origins of modern forward guidance
Transcripts from the FOMC’s meetings in 2008 reveal the considerations that informed forward guidance at the time and continue to influence central banks’ communication policy today
Ukraine appoints revolutionary leader to head up central bank
Stepan Kubiv, deputy chairman of Ukraine parliament's banking and finance committee, will take over at the central bank having ‘administered' the protests that toppled the regime
Sweden mulls tighter rules on wholesale forex funding
Group comprising top-ranking decision-makers, including Riksbank governor Stefan Ingves and the minister of financial markets, highlights ‘big risk’ of foreign wholesale funding
Fed floats ‘advanced approach' for calculating risk weights
Biggest US banks will use new approach to calculate risk-based capital ratios from Q2 2014; changes to stress-test procedures pushed back a year to October 2015
G-20 pledge signposts en route to 'normal' monetary policy
Central bank governors and finance ministers in the world's biggest economies promise to be ‘mindful of impacts on the global economy' as they exit unconventional monetary policy
Singapore unveils faster payments service
The Association of Banks in Singapore says ‘almost immediate’ payments service for interbank transfers will launch in the middle of the year
Australia, Korea strike $5 billion swap deal
Glenn Stevens and Choong Soo Kim sign the countries’ first swap arrangement on the sidelines of the G-20 meeting as they look to promote bilateral trade
Fed publishes FOMC transcripts from 'crisis year' 2008
Transcripts of FOMC meetings from the year Lehman Brothers went bust reveal thinking behind exceptional monetary policy decisions