News
Polish governor says inflation will rise slower than expected
Inflation will not turn positive in January 2016 as previously expected, governor Marek Belka says; monetary policy council keeps policy rate unchanged
Flurry of new central bank heads could continue into 2016
The past three months have brought 10 new central bank governors and a Fed president, after a period of relative stability; Central Bank Directory 2016 shows other terms expiring this year
IMF staff say tighter macro-pru measures ‘may be warranted’ in Slovakia
IMF staff have called for Slovakia’s central bank to boost its oversight of housing lending and to consider raising the counter-cyclical capital buffer for the country’s banks if growth continues
Angola central bank’s new website draws on emerging best practices
Responsive website launched for 2016; work in Brazil, Portugal, South Africa and UK were ‘points of reference’ in process
Ukrainian governor: banking system 'largely cleaned up'
Ukraine’s central bank governor says the country’s commercial banking system has been largely reformed; enhancing creditors’ rights key to resumption of lending, she argues
Volatility fails to shake outlook as BoE holds rates steady
Latest MPC minutes are largely preoccupied with discussion of international developments, but falling oil prices and market volatility do not herald major change in stance
Basel Committee completes trading book review
Much-anticipated redesign of market risk framework seeks to capture risks the Basel accord failed to guard against in 2008; impact study implies median 27% increase in capital charges
HKMA to raise countercyclical buffer by maximum in 2017
Hong Kong Monetary Authority will raise banks’ counter-cyclical buffers by the maximum amount in January 2017; risks still present in credit and housing market, Norman Chan warns
Indonesia cuts interest rates following Jakarta attack
Local reports suggest central bank's board was meeting at time of bomb blasts in downtown Jakarta; rate cut ‘should provide overdue boost' to the economy but comes with risks, says analyst
The winners of the Central Banking Awards 2016
Central Bank of Ireland wins Central Bank of the Year, while Erdem Başçı picks up Governor of the Year; Zeti Akhtar Aziz receives Lifetime Achievement Award; 15 more awards announced
Sarb deputy governor sees growing inflation risks ahead of MPC meeting
South African Reserve Bank policy-makers must assess ‘very carefully’ whether its stance remains appropriate, Mminele says; MPC meets January 21
BoE moves to close bonus clawback loophole
Under new proposals, banks will no longer be able to circumvent malus and clawback rules by buying out new employees’ bonuses
Survey data offers chance to assess eurozone macro-prudential policies, paper argues
Data from the eurozone’s Bank Lending Survey can be used to analyse the effectiveness of different macro-prudential policies, an IMF working paper argues; subject is little known, researchers say
RBI, BIS gain access to China interbank foreign exchange market
Second batch of official investors receive permission to trade FX spot and derivatives onshore; MAS and BoK also among the seven institutions
Senate blocks proposal to conduct ‘full audit’ of the Fed
‘Audit the Fed’ bill fails to secure support needed to proceed to Senate floor; Bernanke joins ranks of current and former Fed officials warning of potential threat to independence
New bank business models could undermine stability, panellists warn
Panel including Mark Carney and Agustín Carstens raises concerns over the way regulation and low rates are forcing banks to adapt in unpredictable ways
Villeroy de Galhau and Fischer express caution over inflation target change
There could be costs to changing inflation targets in response to persistent low inflation, say François Villeroy de Galhau, Christian Noyer and Stanley Fischer
Hungarian central bank eases by scrapping deposit facility
The central bank announces the closure of its two-week deposit facility in April, in a move it hopes will lead banks to buy government bonds and lower long-term yields
Financial market risk being pushed into ETFs, Noyer warns
Central bankers must develop oversight of ETFs and similar securities, Noyer tells farewell seminar; must also convince markets and public of opposition to low inflation and deflation
PBoC looks to expand lending programme for SMEs
Central bank to 'steadily advance' refinancing scheme as economy expected to slow further; Ma Jun clarifies PBoC's position on exchange rate fluctuations
People: Patel reappointed RBI deputy; Kocherlakota moves to University of Rochester
RBI deputy Urjit Patel gets second three-year term; Narayana Kocherlakota takes up economics chair at University of Rochester; Canadian governor to head BIS’s consultative council for the Americas
Brazil will adopt ‘necessary measures’ to control inflation, says Tombini
Tombini tells finance minister he expects inflation to return to midpoint of target range by the end of 2017; Brazil inflation breaches 10% for 2015
IMF supports tighter monetary policy in Mozambique
Rate rises are necessary to counter the inflationary pressures of currency depreciation, Fund says
Venner’s successor: Grenada official named first new Eastern Caribbean governor since 1989
Grenada secretary to the ministry of finance named governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank after seven-month search; takes office on February 1