News
Inflation expectations well-anchored, Richmond Fed president says
Lacker tells audience at Banque de France he believes expectations are anchored, despite drop in inflation compensation; Villeroy de Galhau notes drop in market-based measures in eurozone
Eurozone not at zero lower bound, Praet says
ECB chief economist Peter Praet has said the eurozone is not at its zero lower bound; remarks may not contradict earlier guidance by ECB president Draghi
Rosengren eyes balance between bank resilience and loans
Boston Fed president tells New York conference that supervisors should encourage banks to maintain lending when striving to meet capital-to-asset ratios, but stress the need for quick recapitalisation
BoJ establishes working groups to consider how to make best use of BOJ-NET
Working group to look at ways to make effective use of settlement system; BOJ-NET to process more transactions across time zones
IMF will ‘take stock’ of capital flow policies
IMF may undertake further work on capital flow management and foreign exchange interventions if analysis highlights need for it; fund will also re-examine global safety net
Progress on resolution frameworks has slowed, FSB warns
Few jurisdictions have all the rules in place and legislative progress is slowing, Financial Stability Board says in its latest peer review of resolution regimes
Sarb hikes rate despite split decision on MPC
Monetary policy committee decides to raise key rate by 25bp after an initial 3:3 split; concerns over inflation remain for some members
Bank of Israel establishes banking innovation division
New section of banking supervision department formed to help foster innovation but contain the accompanying risks; Dudi Bavli chosen to head division
Bank of Russia unveils framework for insurance industry regulation
Russia’s central bank will monitor insurance companies for compliance with financial ratios and other indicators; has set up institute for risk management in insurance industry
Guy Debelle reviews forex code progress ahead of first-phase release in May
Global code to be implemented as principles rather than rules; regulators may implement with element of variation depending on market participants, Debelle notes
Norges Bank willing to consider move into negative territory
Central bank cuts rates to 0.5% and signals further action likely to follow; executive board concerned by side-effects of negative rates, but willing to use them if necessary
Fed officials lower expectations of rate increases
Fed officials forecast rate increase of 50bp this year, compared with 100bp in December; Yellen “wary” of recent increase in headline inflation
Bank of Japan ramps up efforts to prepare infrastructure for disaster
Central bank calls for examinations of business continuity plans, learning from the 2011 earthquake, in rare report on payments landscape; BOJ-NET extends operating time
Riksbank flags concerns over pace of development in payments
Tech development proceeding ‘too rapidly’, says central bank; evolution of payments could jeopardise access
Equities support Danish central bank's profits in 2015
Move into riskier assets contributes to profits in 2015, in addition to significant returns from defending the krone; costs are also on the rise following major IT project
San Marino’s new central bank chief faces NPL challenge
Staff at IMF stress need for “comprehensive strategy” to clean up balance sheets in the banking sector; Wafik Grais takes office as chairman of the central bank after prolonged vacancy
Slovenia report simulates effects of structural reforms
Report by local institute, in co-operation with the central bank and OECD, argues the time is “ripe” for structural reform in Slovenia; suggests long-term benefits outweigh short-term costs
PBoC and MAS extend $46bn swap line
Renewal of currency arrangement follows deepening of cross-border integration measures introduced last year
Romanian government policies may put financial stability at risk, IMF and EC staff say
European Commission and IMF staff raise concerns over some measures, including draft laws on loans and debt clearance; IMF staff suggest the central bank adopts a “tightening bias”
Bangladesh governor resigns over theft
Atiur Rahman has resigned after $101 million was stolen from the central bank’s account at the New York Fed; finance minister announces Fazle Kabir as successor
BoJ spells out operational details for negative rates
Policy board will review exemptions from negative interest rate every three months; banks given new incentive to borrow from the central bank under its targeted programmes
Research sheds light on RBNZ concerns over inflation expectations
Article authored by, among others, John McDermott argues the risk of inflation expectations losing their anchor has increased; concerns were a ‘primary motive’ for last week’s rate cut
Rajan offers solution to global policy spillovers
RBI governor sketches rating system designed to hold central banks to account; frank discussion may be enough, he says, but tougher rules in the style of Bretton Woods are also an option
Zeti stresses need to protect independence when central banks get broad mandates
Central banks in emerging economies often find themselves tackling difficult reforms as they are best equipped for the challenge, she says, but this can only work if certain conditions hold