News
Iceland governor must re-apply for post as government mulls central bank shake-up
Ministry of finance says decision to review central bank's governing structure means it will advertise for applications for governorship; media speculate that political motives play a part
IMF praises ‘dramatic’ turnaround in Spanish bank sector
Final report on Spain’s financial sector reform programme says ‘steadfast’ implementation paid dividends, but warns of a number of alarming trends still prevalent in the financial sector
People: Bank of Spain bolsters supervisory staff; ECB advertises two more SSM posts
Bank of Spain fills two supervisory roles with internal promotions; ECB looks to hire two more deputy directors-general for SSM
Euribor rate-setting improvement ‘substantial’, say regulators
EBA-Esma report finds European benchmark setter has made ‘significant progress’ towards correcting previous governance failures, but six of 10 areas require further work
Central bank independence is 'oversold', says Cargill
Thomas Cargill, chair of the AEA's session on central bank independence, says rules-based approach first advocated by Milton Friedman is 'far more important' for price stability
Kazakhstan aims for hat-trick in banknote beauty parade
The International Bank Note Society judges newly issued banknotes on aesthetic and security grounds; Solomon Islands among those aiming to wrest crown from the Kazakhs
Sanusi exiled from Central Bank of Nigeria
Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan suspends the central bank governor for financial recklessness; Sanusi says he will fight the suspension but accepts his days are numbered
People: Slovakia puts financial markets head on the board; director re-appointed to the UK's PRA
The National Bank of Slovakia's executive director for financial markets has joined the central bank board; Charles Randell re-appointed to the Bank of England's PRA; and more
RBI and IMF clash over pace of tightening
Staff report from the International Monetary Fund calls for ‘significant increases’ in policy rates, but the central bank is reluctant to cut off the economic recovery
G-20 governors should co-ordinate exit, says IMF
Fund recommends greater co-ordination of monetary policy as well as negative interest rates at the ECB and devaluations in emerging markets, in report to G-20
Central Bank of Chile cuts rate again as currency remains at five-year low
Bank lowers benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 4.25% and hints at further cuts in coming months, but analysts warn currency weakness and drop in copper exports should not be ignored
UK Supreme Court throws out $6.5m fraud case against Central Bank of Nigeria
The UK Supreme Court today accepted an appeal from the Nigerian central bank, which was accused of facilitating a $6.5m fraud in 1986
Rwanda will keep easy policy while inflationary pressures are ‘limited’
National Bank of Rwanda introduces forward guidance in its latest semi-annual monetary policy statement; outlines plans to improve monetary policy transmission mechanism
Omani central bank chief still committed to dollar peg
Central Bank of Oman's Hamood Sangour Al Zadjali tells Central Banking journal the peg still offers 'substantial benefits' given Oman's economic structure
Central banks cut gold purchases by a third, as consumers pick up slack
Global demand for gold fell 15% in 2013 compared with 2012, as central banks slowed their purchases and ETFs made hefty divestments
BoJ extends lending schemes as economic growth disappoints
Two schemes aimed at stimulating bank lending are expanded and extended as economic data falls below Bank of Japan expectations; analysts expect more easing next quarter
Nigerian RTGS joins Swift
The country's adoption of the global payment platform yesterday is expected to improve settlement security and discourage the use of cash payments in the longer term
Colombia sees benefit of weaker currency as inflation stays at record lows
Minutes say monetary policy framework is functioning well as lower levels of capital flight allow central bank to retain some of South America's lowest interest rates
Former HKMA chief Yam calls on PBoC to shift to policy rate
Founding chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority publishes a paper calling for interest rate and money base liberalisation on the mainland
Central Bank of Turkey expected to avoid drama with rate hold tomorrow
The bank, which hiked rates by 425 basis points in an emergency meeting on January 29, is widely expected to stay on current path; has continued to sell dollars in February to prop up lira
Noyer paints picture of ‘European Federal Reserve System’
Banque de France governor sets out vision of the ECB operating in a similar style to the Fed – with France taking the place of New York
New face for FOMC as Cleveland Fed pick Pianalto replacement
Mester, head of research at Philadelphia Fed, will take over on June 1; will contribute insights on financial stability effects of monetary policy to FOMC, says Don Kohn
Norwegian governor backs SWF rotation into higher-yielding equities and real estate
Øystein Olsen says it is ‘natural' for the country's pension fund to invest in different types of real assets; talks up the possibility of an above-average market return
'Cornered' Argentina introduces new inflation index
New inflation index announced by the government yesterday is a step in the right direction, according to analysts, who nevertheless remain concerned about how data is collected