News
BoJ mirrors BoE’s FLS and steps up easing
Bank of Japan launches scheme with similarities to Bank of England’s funding for lending and steps up the size of its asset purchase programme by $138 billion
Spain’s ‘bad bank’ structure revealed
Bank of Spain releases the details of new ‘bad bank’ Asset Management Company; hopes to clear up banks’ balance sheets while producing a 14–15% return on equity for stakeholders
FSB task force proposes enhancements to risk disclosure
Private-sector task force organised by the Financial Stability Board outlines seven principles designed to improve banks’ risk disclosure, with implementation of some sections to begin immediately
Basel Committee reports slow progress ahead of G-20 meeting
Report submitted to G-20 leaders ahead of summit shows just six of 29 systemically important banks are likely to be subject to Basel III rules when deadline is passed
Draghi wants European veto over national budgets
ECB president Mario Draghi says he supports German proposal that would centralise European sovereignty; believes divide with Bundesbank president can be overcome
Dutch gold also unverified
Central banks with second, third and ninth largest gold holdings in the world admit to not physically verifying overseas gold; but some host central banks do not allow external auditors into vaults
Bundestag approves Germany’s Financial Stability Act
German lawmakers approve new macro-prudential powers for financial supervisors, with the Deutsche Bundesbank gaining a key monitoring role
RBNZ’s new governor rejects QE and capital controls
Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s Graeme Wheeler sees no need to introduce a ‘desperate’ measure such as quantitative easing in the country; rules out use of capital controls to limit kiwi dollar appreciation
Banking supervision gets leadership overhaul in Spain
Bank of Spain names new director-general and associate director-general at the top of its banking supervision department as initial IMF review of financial assistance programme is released
Bundesbank reveals specific location details of gold holdings
New details of the Bundesbank’s foreign gold holdings released as Bank of Italy admits also not physically verifying gold held overseas despite having world’s third largest gold reserves
Troika praises Ireland for ‘steadfast’ adherence to programme
Conclusion of eighth programme review says Ireland likely to meet deficit target this year; Portugal by contrast facing ‘strong headwinds’ to fiscal adjustment with 2012 targets beyond reach
Bank of Finland’s Honkapohja gets second five-year term
Seppo Honkapohja reappointed for a second five-year term on the board of the Bank of Finland; only three board members of a possible six currently in office
FSB resolution paper due in ‘next few weeks’, says BoE’s Tucker
Lack of national legislation on resolution mechanisms has made the drafting of international standards for resolution regimes tricky. But an FSB consultative paper will be issued in the coming weeks
Customer funding gaps fall at Danish banks
Stress tests performed by the National Bank of Denmark show an increase in the capitalisation of the country’s banks; funding gaps shrink as deposits soar and lending falls
Bank of Israel moves to educate youth
An Israeli financial education programme has widened to include younger people; central bank says this will help strengthen the future position of the consumer in the financial sector
Fed holds fire on further easing
Federal Open Market Committee votes to hold federal funds rate and maintain current scale of asset purchases; concerns persist over labour market conditions, raising possibility of further stimulus
Basel Committee official rebuts criticism over regulatory complexity
Basel Committee secretary-general defends Basel III from critics who argue it is unnecessarily complicated; says additional detail needed to meet the increasing complexity of financial markets
BoE’s King highlights limitations of monetary policy
Bank of England governor says new asset purchase programme is still feasible, but indicates the use of monetary policy to bolster the economy is getting much harder
Draghi defends OMTs in front of German parliament
ECB president answers questions from Bundestag in a bid to address German fears over effect of outright monetary transactions
Embattled Nigerian governor condemns corrupt leadership
Central Bank of Nigeria governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi says country’s economy is grossly underperforming due to corrupt and ineffectual leadership throughout the country
Korea to miss OTC clearing deadline
It is ‘highly unlikely’ Korea will meet the deadline to start clearing OTC derivatives by January 1, 2013, due to legislative delays, according to market participants
Bundesbank under pressure over $172bn gold inventory
German Federal Court of Auditors calls on Bundesbank to check gold held at Federal Reserve, Bank of England and Banque de France; Bundesbank to move 150 tonnes back to Germany over next three years
US reform could slash $150bn payments bill, says Fed’s Pianalto
Cleveland Fed president Sandra Pianalto explains the Fed’s vision of how the US payments system will operate in a decade; says UK offers valuable lesson on speed
Third-quarter figures show Spain still grappling with economic woes
Bank of Spain economic bulletin for the third quarter shows continued weakening of growth and range of other economic indicators; raises possibility government will not meet deficit target this year