News
Malawi launches newsletter on financial inclusion and consumer protection
Latest financial inclusion initiative to inform members of the public about new developments in the market as well as improve financial literacy; newsletter forms part of larger national initiative
Former Irish governor calls for higher inflation targets
Concerns about the consequences of raising inflation targets are overblown, say Patrick Honohan and three other monetary policy experts
People: Debelle becomes RBA deputy governor
Foreign exchange expert becomes deputy governor of RBA; Mongolia appoints deputy governor
Central Bank of Bahrain looks to establish stronger sharia governance
Formal framework specifies governance structures banks must put in place if they are to be licensed as Islamic, in an attempt to establish best practice
RBA launches first banknote with edge-to-edge window
Twelve-year project cost the bank $37 million; new series to feature pioneering security elements and is the first to trial tactile features for the visually impaired
Australia’s Future Fund doubles its money
Sovereign wealth fund is now twice the size of its initial endowment, driven in part by alternative investments and private equity; warns future returns likely to be lower
Kenyan parliament amends central bank’s regulation powers
Bill requires central bank to take decisions to place commercial banks into receivership “in consultation” with a senior bureaucrat at the country’s finance ministry
BIS survey points to turnaround in global forex volumes
Latest survey suggests more than a decade of growth may have come to an end, as data points to a restructuring away from spot trades towards derivatives
Emerging evidence can guide design of macro-prudential policies, say BIS, IMF and FSB
International institutions present review of evidence on macro-prudential policies; no consensus but some patterns are emerging
Mozambique replaces governor Gove with IMF official
Ernesto Gove leaves central bank after a decade in the role; new governor to leave role as head of IMF mission to Djibouti and Somalia
IMF praises Argentina’s new statistical rigour
Fund pleased with progress made reforming statistics but there is still work to be done; IMF willing to provide “technical assistance”
Slovenian central bank appeals against court decision on advisory committee disclosure
Dispute is the latest clash between Slovenian legal authorities and the central bank over an inquiry into the country’s 2013 banking sector bail-out; move follows July police raid
Praet warns against creating ‘trade-off’ between monetary and financial stability
Senior ECB economist defends eurozone monetary policy against charges of being too concerned with short-term objectives
FSB sees limited evidence of regulatory side-effects
Global financial reforms appear not to have had a significant impact on market liquidity or emerging markets, and have helped prevent the global system from fragmenting, authority says
Bank Indonesia launches training and research institute
Central bank establishes a new centre for research and staff training, with the hope of building expertise and boosting credibility
Swift threatens to report users who fail to update software
Cyber security threat is "persistent, adaptive and sophisticated – and it is here to stay”, Swift says; customers have until November 19 to install updates
Ukrainian central bank complains of failure to prosecute banking offences
Deputy governor criticises failure to bring “high-profile” court cases against suspected financial criminals; IMF has yet to announce whether it will disburse next tranche of aid
Jackson Hole: ECB and NY Fed economists examine ideal operational frameworks for policy
Simon Potter praises paper by ECB’s Ulrich Bindseil for in-depth analysis, but also highlights a number of areas for further research
Jackson Hole: economists flag costs and benefits of bloated balance sheets
Economists including Christopher Sims, Ricardo Reis and Jeremy Stein unpack the economics of central bank balance sheets, identifying both dangers and potential benefits
Basel Committee warns on potential missed deadlines
A “significant number” of Basel standards still need to be translated into domestic regulation as deadlines loom; problems with risk-weighted asset variability and inconsistency continue
Bundesbank places first representative in Africa
South Africa is “fertile ground” for investment, says Andreas Dombret; Jenny Kilp to be placed in Pretoria to help foster projects between Sarb and Bundesbank
BoE deputy clashes with academics over use of leverage ratio
Shafik disagrees with paper that argues leverage ratio “harms” pass-through of monetary policy – leverage ratio is “here to stay” says deputy governor
Yellen: future policy-makers may need new tools to tackle recessions
Fed chair says equilibrium rates may not be high enough for rate cuts to deal with all eventualities, so US policy-makers may need to think more laterally about their options
Financial inclusion in Rwanda rising, central bank report says
ATMs and mobile money has helped reduce the number of those financially excluded, governor says; banking sector starting to benefit but high proportion of NPLs in some sectors is a concern