News
PBoC to investigate bitcoin firms
Bitcoin price falls by 33% in January; PBoC to investigate four largest bitcoin companies
Carney admits Brexit is no longer UK’s biggest stability risk
Bank of England governor quizzed on importance of transitional arrangements for Brexit; external financial policy member defends forecasting, but admits “surprise” at the health of the economy
Lacker to retire from Fed after 28 years
Jeffrey Lacker, who has a reputation as a monetary policy hawk, is to step down as Richmond Fed president in October; the search is on to find successor
Slovenian court rejects ECB lawsuit against authorities
Case regards police seizure of ECB data in raid on country's central bank
Italian police arrest two over Draghi hacking allegations
Investigating official suspects wide-ranging conspiracy; attempts made to hack over 18,000 email accounts, local authorities say
Azerbaijan raids oil fund as central bank reserves dwindle
President allocates chunk of oil fund to top up central bank reserves, as pressure on the manat continues
Defence and diversification key to fund success – HKMA deputy
Exchange fund is to continue diversifying into industries that can “counter” inflationary pressures, Yue says, as a challenging investment environment looks set to continue
ECB announces plans for instant payment system changes
Coming year will see “decisive” innovations to clearing and settlement systems, Yves Mersch says; French governor calls for more European competition in payment services
Turkish central bank acts to support lira as inflation jumps
Central bank launches fresh measures to counter “unhealthy price formations”; inflation surprise in December adds to pressure for monetary policy action
Thai governor calls for rethink of monetary policy frameworks
New structure should systematically acknowledge the negative impact of monetary policy; Santiprabhob recognises macroprudential cannot take all the strain
TK Whitaker, 1916–2017
Former Irish governor was key figure in his country’s economic modernisation; earlier served as senior civil servant in finance and pushed through far-reaching reform plan
Regional Fed presidents call for further rate rises
Richmond and Boston heads say the Fed should reach inflation target in 2017
Luc Coene, 1947–2017
Former Belgian central bank governor also had significant political career
RBI research arm tests blockchain for clearing, settlement
IDRBT releases white paper on the applications of blockchain, examining the benefits for the Indian financial sector; research group created proof-of-concept architecture to simulate clearing network
Stronger 2016 profit helps SNB rebuild reserves
Profitable year helps central bank repair its distribution reserve after losses in 2015, though profits appear to have slipped slightly in the fourth quarter
People: Central banks of Spain and Afghanistan appoint new deputy governors
Career central banker Javier Alonso promoted to deputy in Spain, Bank of Afghanistan names new first deputy governor, and more
Central Banking Awards 2016: Gallery
On March 3, 2016, members of the central banking world gathered in London to celebrate Central Banking’s third annual awards
Pablo Sánchez appointed to lead Central Bank of Bolivia
Academic to take over from Zabalaga after six years as president; latest IMF consultation highlights the disagreement with Bolivian authorities over independence and monetary policy
Nigerian central bank details funding for farmers
Programme is latest to aim at boosting production of import substitutes
Belarus cuts rates amid systemic risk fears
Central bank says measures will be taken to guard against foreign loan risk; recent IMF assessment says economy has high level of risk
Ex-Barclays trader pleads guilty in price-fixing conspiracy
Jason Katz, a former EMFX trader at Barclays and BNP Paribas, pleads guilty in New York
Echavarría takes over at Central Bank of Colombia
Former board member central bank takes office as economy is expected to recover from commodity slowdown; biggest challenge will be tackling high inflation
Czech central bank carries out internal reorganisation
Research division to be split between two departments; human resources joins general secretariat, while EU and international organisations division is moved to regulation department
Bank of Portugal selects preferred buyer for ‘good bank’
Novo Banco sale process has met with difficulties; US firm Lone Star is named the best-placed bidder