News
UK consumers drop cash in move towards mobile payments
British Retail Consortium says cash usage fell sharply last year, while research by VocaLink finds a strong uptake of mobile payments by consumers, though retail payments are still dominated by cash
ECB links ‘fragile’ financial stability to weak macroeconomy
Latest financial stability review says stress has ‘fallen markedly’ but vulnerabilities persist; ECB is most concerned about the impact of a further decline in bank profitability
RBNZ could ‘scale up’ forex intervention
Reserve Bank of New Zealand governor Graeme Wheeler signals willingness to sell more NZ dollars to combat currency appreciation; house price increases put central bank in policy ‘bind’
Pressure builds on ECB as figures show no lending growth
OECD and the European Commission call on the European Central Bank to do more, as ECB figures show lending to the eurozone's productive economy continues to shrink
IMF warns China on rapid growth of social financing
Article IV consultation urges China to tighten prudential standards to rein in fast credit growth and rebalance economy away from investment; growth forecast trimmed again
BoE deputies warn of slow policy coordination
Charlie Bean says eurozone periphery will weigh on demand for ‘some time’ as wage and price adjustments are needed; Tucker highlights trade-off between speed and balance in global regulation
Bank of Thailand rate cut aims to boost demand, not weaken baht
BoT makes clear its move was driven by disappointing economic growth, and not aimed at weakening the currency as the government would like
BIS finds ‘no evidence' of persistent collateral scarcity
Report says increased reliance on collateralised funding and demands of regulatory reforms have not led to any 'lasting or widespread scarcity' of high quality assets
RBA considers overhaul to card access regimes
Reserve Bank of Australia launches consultation on whether to change or revoke rules governing access to credit and debit card systems – which might allow the RBA itself to acquire cards
RBI ‘reluctant’ to apply for Esma recognition under current rules
Indian reticence over Emir steps up pressure on EC equivalency regime
Israel cuts rate for second time in two weeks
Bank of Israel cuts benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points for second time this month as global monetary easing ‘accelerates’
Discontent on BoJ board over monetary policy outlook
Three board members suggest changes to the wording of the outlook for economic activity and prices as fears emerge over effects of continued QE; Kuroda and Miyao upbeat in separate speeches
Martowardojo sworn in as governor of Bank Indonesia
Former finance minister promises to combat inflation and increase the stability of the banking sector
Weidmann hits out at 'austerity backlash'
Bundesbank president challenges Blanchard study, says no conflict between fiscal consolidation and growth; Banque de France governor Noyer throws weight behind European banking union
Central bank operations push up Target2 turnover
ECB annual report says central banks helped push the value of payments in Target2 system to €634 trillion in 2012; balances diverged as German claims and Spanish liabilities increased
Gideon Gono fears ‘financial isolation’ for Zimbabwe
Central bank governor believes country could lose access to global payments platforms and external lines of credit if the indigenisation of foreign-owned banks is forced through
Cyprus challenges accusations of weak anti-money laundering controls
Central bank and finance ministry say summary of two reports into anti-money laundering controls in Cyprus gives a biased view of the results
New York Fed forecasts support continued easing
Staff forecasts predict inflation and unemployment are unlikely to make significant progress toward their target levels in 2013
Sarb and Nigeria hold steady as Ghana hikes rates 100bp
Bank of Ghana responds to inflationary threat with one percentage point rate rise, in addition to changes to affect policy transmission; Sarb and Central Bank of Nigeria see threats but hold steady
Japan delays cross-border rules amid US and European uncertainty
Equivalence and substituted compliance issues must be resolved quickly, or financial markets will be affected, says Kono at Japan FSA
Bullard says inflation must pick up before asset purchases can be slowed
St Louis Fed president says future of QE should depend on inflation developments; suggests FOMC is more likely to taper than increase asset purchases
Bank of Japan ¥2tn intervention fails to halt Nikkei slump
BoJ moves to calm bond volatility as Bernanke comments and China data spook Japanese markets
Bernanke remains dovish in face of stability threats
Fed chairman says low interest rates are providing significant benefits to growth and heading off ‘incipient’ deflationary pressures; hints QE could be reduced soon, but only if data allow
Israeli committee split over rate cut, minutes reveal
Governor Stanley Fischer used casting vote to keep May rate cut to 25bp after half the monetary committee called for a sharper reaction to tackle the appreciating shekel