News
IMF criticises Hungary over policy 'missteps'
International Monetary Fund Article IV consultations says Hungarian economy is in perilous state; country must push ahead with structural reforms and reverse a central bank law to receive funding
World Gold Council predicts ‘record year’ for central bank gold purchases
Trend of central banks being net purchasers to continue; latest update from World Gold Council predicts ‘record year’ of buying
Thailand blames floods and ‘likely’ eurozone recession for rate cut
Bank of Thailand drops benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 3%; says recession now "likely" in the eurozone
South African bank creates new role for ex-central banker
FirstRand bank appoints former SARB deputy registrar of the banks Yvette Singh as public regulatory affairs executive
IMF fears eurozone crisis will stall global recovery
World Economic Outlook slashes growth projections for 2012 as downside risks to eurozone economy intensify; IMF warns spill-over effects could slow economic activity globally
King sees ‘no reason to despair’ over world economy
Governor of the Bank of England acknowledges ‘serious’ situation global economy is in, but says there is a way forward; despite fall in inflation the year ahead will not be easy, King says
Zambia raises capital ratio for banks and rebases currency
Bank of Zambia reveals government decision to hike capital requirements for banks operating in the country; three zeros also to be slashed from value of banknotes
RBI’s Subbarao says eurozone situation better than expected
Governor of the Reserve Bank of India says Indian corporates report better conditions in Europe than feared; central bank lowers cash reserve ratio for banks to ease liquidity situation
ECB in talks with dealers on buying inflation-linked bonds
Dealers will present their case as to why the ECB should buy linkers as well as nominal bonds in a conference call today
David Miles retains seat on UK Monetary Policy Committee
David Miles re-appointed as an external member of the MPC; new term to run until 2012
BoE and Treasury Committee clash over accountability
Treasury Select Committee rebuffs Bank of England proposal on accountability reforms; chair Andrew Tyrie sets out three main areas of disagreement between the two bodies
EU freezes assets of Iranian central bank
EU follows US lead by announcing strict new sanctions on Iranian central bank; heart of action is to limit the country’s nuclear programme
Fed reveals design of new interest rate projections
Federal Reserve releases templates to be used in next Summary of Economic Projections (SEP) to project participants' views of the appropriate path for monetary policy
Bangladesh makes ‘historic’ female deputy governor selection
First female deputy governor appointed at Bangladesh Bank; Nazneen Sultana becomes one of three new deputy governors at the central bank
Lagarde calls for larger firewall to ease funding costs
Fund managing director Christine Lagarde says $500 billion boost in lending capacity will improve growth and allow for deeper integration in Europe; says larger firewall is also needed
Ingves targets domestic Sifis with tougher capital rules
Basel Committee chairman Stefan Ingves says all institutions whose disorderly distress or failure could trigger a systemic crisis should be subject to additional capital requirements
Hungary drops plan to merge central bank with regulator
Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán says planned merger between National Bank of Hungary and Hungarian Financial Supervisory Authority has been abandoned
Chilean president nominates economist to central bank board
Joaquin Vial Ruiz-Tagle put forward for seat on Central Bank of Chile board; government has final say
Swedish authorities improve macroprudential policy co-operation
The Riksbank and Finansinspektionen form a new council for co-operation on macroprudential policy; group will not infringe on two authorities' independence in decision-making
FSB Regional Consultative Group meetings continue
Middle East and North Africa consultative group is latest regional FSB body to meet; discussed financial vulnerabilities of the region
Former contractor charged for hacking New York Fed files
Computer programmer at Federal Reserve Bank of New York arrested for stealing proprietary source code used to track the US government’s finances; code is estimated to be worth $9.5 million
Haldane calls for radical rethink of accounting rules
Bank of England financial stability executive director Andrew Haldane says departure form fair-value accounting principles necessary to prevent pro-cyclical behaviour of asset prices
Global economic growth fears prompt emerging markets to ease rates
Central Bank of Brazil, Central Bank of the Philippines and National Bank of Serbia cut interest rates on weaker global outlook; elevated inflation forces South African Reserve Bank to hold rates
Risk managers complain about Fed stress test workload
Twelve new banks are included in this year's US stress test, and some institutions are unhappy about the extra work