News
Ex-governor calls for tighter cap on government borrowing from Malawi central bank
Former governor campaigns for greater operational independence of the Reserve Bank of Malawi and further protection against fiscal dominance
RMB now second most used payments currency between China and Japan
The Chinese currency more than doubles share of payments between China/Hong Kong and Japan in two years, eclipsing US and Hong Kong dollars while yen retains number one spot
Riksbank deputy open to scrapping CPI as target variable
Quirks of Swedish CPI make it awkward for use as the monetary policy target variable, Per Jansson says; bringing back tolerance band also a possibility
Bank of Israel unveils real-time payments plan
New payments infrastructure will support push for advanced electronic payments; committee chair identifies plans for wide range of payments improvements, including real time
Bank of Russia presents strategic plan for financial sector
Bank of Russia aims to create financial ombudsman, update regulatory regime and develop bond market as part of first strategic development plan
ECB extends asset purchases to March 2017 or beyond and cuts deposit rate
European Central Bank will continue buying assets until at least March 2017 as part of latest easing package; Draghi describes deposit rate as ‘driver’ of policy as council cuts it to -0.3%
Yellen signals growing confidence ahead of Fed decision
Fed chair expects some key headwinds to inflation to diminish next year; continued improvements in labour market and stable expectations help ‘bolster’ her confidence in a return to target
Turkish MPC has eyes on inflation and loan growth
The monetary policy committee of Turkey’s central bank notes year-on-year inflation fell due to drops in energy and food prices; cautious on currency depreciation and falling loan rates
PBoC deputy governor says reforms will continue beyond SDR inclusion
Yi Gang welcomes IMF decision on SDR, says China will not ease off on reforms; inclusion was seen as inevitable in recent weeks, but Central Banking poll highlights earlier uncertainty
Bean calls for overhaul of UK statistics
Report dissecting UK statistics production calls for national statistics office to become more agile, make use of new forms of data, and tackle shortcomings
ECB survey finds ‘access to finance’ least of eurozone SME problems
The European Central Bank’s survey of eurozone enterprises finds deleveraging is continuing at a slow pace while few firms rate lack of access to finance as their major problem
‘Gradual and low’ may be new normal for Fed, Brainard says
Lael Brainard says lower neutral interest rates and stubborn inflation make it likely the federal funds rate will need to be tightened ‘more gradually and to a lower level’ than in the past
IMF reveals weights of new SDR basket
Renminbi to account for 10.92% of basket from its inclusion next year; executive board approves change in formula
Irish central bank will persist with housing measures despite public dissent
Chief economist of Ireland’s central bank says it will continue with macro-prudential measures despite public criticism; academic says measures will help slow prices but are ‘insufficient’
BoE plans capital framework redesign
The central bank hopes the realignment of capital requirements from individual banks to a system-wide buffer will simplify the framework and allow the FPC to respond to threats earlier
Rajan weighs currency movements while RBI holds rates
Governor Raghuram Rajan spells out challenges posed by divergence of dollar and euro in press conference after Reserve Bank of India keeps key rate at 6.75%
Two UK banks fall short in BoE stress tests
RBS and Standard Chartered pass 'hurdle' rates but fall short on other capital requirements in 2015 Bank of England stress test; tests redesigned since 2014
IMF approves renminbi as SDR currency as questions raised on hedging
Lagarde reveals executive board's decision to include renminbi in basket; inclusion raises questions on whether to hedge exposure to Chinese currency
UK authorities extend Funding for Lending Scheme again
Bank funding scheme will now be tapered over two years, with new banks offered the chance to be involved; lending to SMEs up over the year
Colombia reinforces inflation target as it tightens policy
Central Bank of Colombia board expects to reach inflation target within two years; raises policy rate by 25bp to 5.5% as expectations increase
Banks should do more to meet Basel disclosures, EBA says
Many banks in the EBA sample are falling short of disclosure rules in the Capital Requirements Regulation, with institutions struggling in particular with reporting their modelling
Payments industry body to implement instant payments in euros ‘by 2017’
The European Retail Payments Board encourages industry body to have a system of instant payments operational by November 2017
Egypt central bank ‘kept eyes on inflation’ as it devalued currency
Head of risk at Central Bank of Egypt says the institution considered wider impact of devaluations on the economy; staff welcomed new governor last week
New Dutch deposit guarantee scheme should ‘disincentivise risk-taking’ by banks
The Netherlands Bank has introduced a new deposit guarantee scheme; scope is wider than old scheme and risk-based, ex ante funding structure aims to dis-incentivise risk-taking by banks