News
Central banks set up task force to fortify cyber security
Central banks to review current cyber security practices; Cœuré stresses need for “adequate checks” at each stage of the payment process
Obituary: Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
Former Bank of Italy governor dies aged 95. The former partisan also held the roles of finance minister, prime minister and president
Zimbabwe to print $75 million in ‘bond notes’ in 2016
Reserve bank to issue US dollar-“equivalent” notes despite criticism from the general public; incentive facility to be backed by Afrimexbank
Greek central bank governor is ‘the real goal’ of police raid, wife says
Greek police raid the office of a company owned by the wife of central bank governor Yannis Stournaras; she denies all wrong-doing and says aim of raid is to “denigrate” her husband
BoE lays out blueprint for RTGS reboot
“Comprehensive rebuild” of current large-value payments platform will retain many core features while adding new resilience, access options, functionality and interoperability
Cœuré mulls advantages and problems of GDP-linked bonds
ECB board member Benoît Cœuré says GDP-linked bonds could protect taxpayers but pricing might be difficult; says international financial institutions could play “catalytic” role
People: BoE appoints Brexit co-ordinator; Lagarde chooses Selassie to head Africa department
Phil Evans put in charge of work on UK’s exit from European Union at the Bank of England; Christine Lagarde appoints new Africa chief; and more
Richmond Fed tries to bridge gap between rules and discretion
Economist presents research urging Fed to be more explicit about its strategy using “graphical framework”, while Jeffrey Lacker says rules offer valuable guidance to policy-makers
IMF official criticises interest rate caps in speech honouring Kenyan central bank
Interest rate ceilings can interfere with central bank independence and restrict credit access, IMF deputy managing director tells Kenyan officials
IMF's systemic risk findings called into question
Financial connectedness measure “not usually sharply aligned with systemic risk”, says Darrell Duffie
Ukrainian central bank cuts rates and promises further banking reform
Personnel director becomes acting deputy governor in charge of banking supervision; Lagarde praises conduct of monetary policy but says reform must continue
BoE signals further rate cut despite stronger-than-expected data
Package of measures announced in August led to “greater than anticipated boost” to UK asset prices; despite data somewhat stronger than expected a further rate cut is likely, minutes say
Bank of Slovenia introduces macro-prudential measures for housing market
Slovenia’s central bank has recommended lenders impose loan-to-value and debt service-to-income ratios on all new housing borrowers
Largest banks meet Basel III capital standards – BIS and EBA
Banks have improved capital and liquidity ratios, reports note, but methodology may differ from that used by industry
Riksbank highlights complexity in choice of target
Report studies case for changing target to CPIF or HICP inflation, and reinstating target band, ahead of discussions over monetary framework reforms
People: Dennis Lockhart to stand down; Buch becomes Irving Fisher committee chair
Atlanta Fed president quits after 10 years at bank; Claudia Buch becomes chair of the BIS’s stats-focused committee; new head of research at the New York Fed
BoE shines light on its gender pay gap
Men are still paid more than women at the central bank, though the gap is narrowing, and smaller within pay bands than across the organisation
FOMC members disagree over need for rate hike
Lael Brainard argues labour market suffers from slack and monetary policy is weak when dealing with weak demand; Dennis Lockhart confident of recovery, despite “frustrating” inflation data
Basel Committee hits turbulence on approach to year-end deadline
Central banks and supervisors offer support to its year-end goal, but industry players and EU countries show growing concern over higher capital levels
Yellen ‘should be ashamed’ – Trump
Republican nominee for US presidency attacks Fed chair Yellen and says interest rates must be raised
Skingsley calls for balance, as government prepares to rethink Riksbank Act
Central bank mandates need to be a balance of specificity and flexibility, while too broad a mandate could threaten independence, deputy says; government to consider six areas of Riksbank’s work
New facility opens to print £10 notes, as £5 enters circulation
Substrate for UK’s new £5 banknote, launched today, was produced in Australia because new facility was not yet ready; Innovia says new plant will make use of the latest technology
ECB consults on bad debt guidance
ECB “strongly encourages” the use of the European Banking Authority’s definition of non-performing exposures, but does not impose its own single measure for the eurozone
Azerbaijan central bank raises rates for fourth time this year as currency plummets
Falling oil and gas prices have major impact on Azerbaijan’s economy; IMF calls for major banking sector reforms