News
ECB and BoE join other countries in rates hold
European Central Bank and Bank of England join the National Bank of Poland and Bank Indonesia in leaving interest rates on hold; ECB president welcomes U-turn on Greece private sector involvement
Basel 2.5: US ratings workaround too punitive, banks complain
Securitisations suffer in draft rules that avoid use of credit ratings - a Dodd-Frank Act requirement
Bank of Lithuania sells majority share in CSD
Finnish company buys 60% share in CSD; central bank hopes new investor will progress the depository’s offerings and promote the Lithuanian capital market
Shirakawa: central bank liquidity measures can only ‘buy time'
Bank of Japan governor Masaaki Shirakawa says lessons from Japan's lost decade show structural reforms are needed to return to sustainable growth; welcomes intellectual shift on policy towards asset bubble
FSB discusses plans for the year
Financial Stability Board covers 2012 work plan in latest meeting; considers extending Sifi framework to domestic banks and globally significant insurance companies
IMF models new liquidity stress test framework
International Monetary Fund study creates new template to conduct balance sheet-based liquidity stress tests
Lesotho appoints governance trio
Central Bank of Lesotho announces appointment of new governor and two deputy governors
Chinese government and central bank identify targets for progress
People’s Bank of China publishes outcome of government planning meeting; document reveals aims for variety of areas including monetary policy and systemic risk management
Bank of Canada survey forecasts weaker sales growth this year
Bank of Canada Business Outlook Winter Survey shows outlook for sales growth in 2012 turns negative as demand continues to weigh on firms’ expectations
Malawi awaits new deputy governors
President Bingu wa Mutharika yet to appoint candidates for two vacant deputy governor positions at Reserve Bank of Malawi; means empty seats in monetary policy committee meetings
Malaysia announces new coins’ circulation date
Bank Negara Malaysia announces new coins to enter circulation this month; new banknotes will not be released until the end of 2012
New appointments for two Basel-based committees
Agustín Carstens, governor of the Bank of Mexico, and William Dudley, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, take on positions on international committees
Hildebrand succumbs to pressure and resigns
Governor of the Swiss National Bank steps down; mounting political pressure follows uproar over wife’s currency trading activities
Central Bank Directory highlights rise in female central bank governors
Four new female governors takes worldwide total to 12; Central Bank Directory also notes 4.1% increase in central bank staff in European Union
Lagarde expresses concerns ahead of crucial meeting with Hungary
Christine Lagarde stresses importance of Hungarian authorities' compliance with the European requirements ahead of key discussions over financial aid in Washington
Fed champions further action to revive housing market
Federal Reserve publishes review of policies to address impediments in US housing market in bid to revitalise economic recovery
Belgium’s Coene believes in commitment of eurozone countries
Governor of National Bank of Belgium says even if Greece were to leave single currency, other member states would draw together to "protect the system"
Basel implementation monitoring strategy approved
Basel Committee governing body agrees plans to monitor member countries' efforts to implement new rules; also discusses liquidity coverage ratio
Fed 'very close' to adopting inflation target, says Bullard
St Louis Federal Reserve president says FOMC nearing agreement to introduce inflation targeting in US; move is part of effort to improve transparency at the Fed
Fitch downgrades Hungary credit rating to junk status
Hungary long-term foreign issuer default rating lowered to BB+; outlook remains negative according to rating agency
Albania approves monetary policy strategy for 2012-2014
Bank of Albania renews monetary policy strategy; offers clarifications and elaborations on previous versions of aims
CNB minutes reveals falling koruna allowed rate hold
Czech National Bank minutes shows weakening koruna allowed central bank board to leave rates unchanged at 0.75%
Commemorative euro coin launched
Eurozone countries issue new €2 coin to commemorate 10 years of the currency; few central banks announce the move
Hildebrand defiant over currency trade row
Swiss governor will not resign, expresses regret at political attack on the Swiss National Bank and reveals details of how information was leaked