News
Sarb faces tough job amid ‘sobering’ outlook, IMF warns
Capital flows, sovereign rating and financial sector health form dangerous links, fund says, though South African authorities stress they have made preparations
Post-Brexit gilt auctions met with strong demand
Trends in gilt yields show UK debt still seen as ‘safe haven’ asset, says one analyst; others attribute strong demand in this week’s auctions to range of factors
Technical issue affects Fed minutes release
Error in Federal Reserve equipment results in early release in some cases and late in others; minutes show Fed officials grappling with uncertainty amid slowing job growth and UK referendum fallout
RBNZ weighs tighter macroprudential policy and wider toolkit
Reserve Bank of New Zealand considers use of debt-to-income ratios to calm housing market, consultation with banks to occur before implementation
European banks suffer as regulators ban Monte dei Paschi short-selling
Banks hit by further shockwaves from UK’s vote to leave EU, while European authorities scramble to shore up crumbling Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena
IMF staff call for greater Pakistan central bank autonomy
Significant progress made but further effort regarding legal amendments still needed, IMF report says; State Bank of Pakistan working on legislative action plan while executive orders fill gap
Fed’s Tarullo looking for more evidence on inflation
Daniel Tarullo wants to see more convincing evidence that inflation is returning to target before tightening monetary policy; headline and core PCE inflation are still below target
Annual inflation in Argentina at 40.3% by year-end, markets say
Inflation seen slowing to less than 16% by end of 2018; results published in new expectations survey, relaunched after the central bank studied examples from abroad
Riksbank tweaks forward guidance, citing Brexit uncertainty
Swedish central bank says it will likely only raise the policy rate from the second half of 2017 onwards; highlights “considerable uncertainty” abroad
Italian banking system sees first major test of European bail-in regime
Leaked letter from ECB triggers sell-off in major Italian commercial bank; European and Italian authorities still fail to reach agreement on resolving NPL problems
Nigerian regulator overhauls management of major local bank
Nigeria’s central bank enforced a change of management in a domestically systemically important bank due to liquidity and capital adequacy concerns; finance veterans appointed to top roles
Report calls for co-operation in appraising macroprudential tools
Research led by Anne Le Lorier for Basel Committee on the Global Financial System says governance arrangements should promote “wider co-operation”
Swift paper warns not to transplant Kenya’s inclusion strategy
Harvard Kennedy School lecturer explores the factors behind M-Pesa’s success in Kenya, and warns against simply copying the country’s approach to inclusion elsewhere
Bank of England cuts CCB to 0% to support credit supply
In wake of Brexit uncertainty, concerns over supply of credit ‘taken off the table’ says Carney; new buffer rate to give confidence to UK economy that banks can lend in ‘challenging times’
BiH central bank preparing for long road to EU membership
Central bank is looking to build its capabilities and expand staff to help support Bosnia and Herzegovina’s bid for EU membership, says governor
HKMA opens office to stimulate infrastructure finance
Infrastructure financing facilitation office will be an “integral part” of the HKMA; designed to bring capital providers and project developers together along the ‘one belt, one road’
European supervisors raise ‘strong concerns’ over Commission’s delay in derivatives regulation
Three European cross-border supervisory authorities challenge European Commission over implementation of standards; delay could have "significant negative impact"
People: RBI and Bank Negara Malaysia promote deputies from within
Indian and Malaysian central banks both choose senior officials from within the organisation to fill deputy governor posts; BIS appoints new secretary-general; and more
Sri Lanka appoints new central bank governor
Arjuna Mahendran leaves central bank after enduring a turbulent 18 months; president appoints economist Indrajit Coomaraswamy as his successor
Sale by Hungarian central bank challenged on transparency grounds
Hungary’s central bank announces it has sold a nationalised bank to three groups of private investors; defends process as ‘transparent’, but local campaigners question move
Mexico hikes rates to stabilise peso depreciation
Bank of Mexico surprises markets with 50bp hike to stem currency depreciation; analysts see global risk factors contributing to exchange rate developments
Asian central banks shift bond funds towards local currency debt
Eleven East Asia-Pacific central banks agree to close fund for buying US dollar debt issued in the region and invest the money in local currency debt instead
Bhutan readies to sharpen ‘blunt’ policy instruments
Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan considering improvements to policy transmission; could involve new lending and deposit windows, departure from current base rate practices
DMO will not change course after Brexit vote
Head of the UK Debt Management Office stresses principles of predictability and transparency ahead of gilt auctions next week; market reaction to S&P’s downgrade was “extremely muted”