News
Liberia in line for new largest banknote
Liberia to have first new banknote series in 16 years, including a L$500 for the first time; all notes to be printed on a “higher-quality substrate”
ESRB unveils methodology for mapping shadow banks
ESRB presents report on European shadow banking and identifies major risks in sector; says major gaps in data still exist
Report sees progress following UK market review but job ‘far from done’
Implementation report notes good progress, suggests responsibility must now fall to market participants; authors note ‘Brexit’ may delay some reforms
Singapore’s GIC warns of lower returns in coming years
High valuation of asset prices and modest growth outlook points to lower returns in coming decade or two, GIC says; 20-year annualised real rate of return fell last fiscal year
Fed holds as near-term risks ‘diminish’
FOMC says near-term risks to US outlook have diminished, while economic activity is expanding at a “moderate pace”; keeps policy unchanged, but statement sees increasing odds of a hike this year
Conflict of interest prompts managerial change at Bank of Jamaica
Deputy governor will leave the central bank after completing her term; Bank of Jamaica to now have three deputy governors
Viñals leaves IMF to chair Standard Chartered
Lagarde praises Viñals for “sharp intellect” and “analytical rigour” during seven years of service at the fund; he will join Standard Chartered Bank as chairman of the board
Malta’s deputy governor to remain in post, central bank confirms
Alfred Mifsud will continue as one of the Central Bank of Malta’s two deputy governors; allegations of corruption, denied by Mifsud, are ‘outside bank’s remit or competence’, spokesman says
Bank of Israel aims to boost construction credit with new regulation
Banking supervision department proposes reclassifying credit risk in wake of financial institution’s efforts to insure against it; suggests it would free up $2.6bn of finance
MAS adds cloud computing to guidelines on outsourcing risk management
Cloud services officially acknowledged in latest outsourcing guidelines as more financial institutions adopt the practice; despite improved security, banks should still be aware of the risks
Sri Lanka invites bids to mint 970 million coins
Central bank calling for four denominations of coin to be minted by end-March 2019; looking for mints with experience of supplying foreign countries with circulation coins
Turkish governor says monetary policy will be simplified at ‘reasonable’ time
Turkish governor emphasises need to address “structural” causes of inflation and says effects of recent coup attempt should prove “short-lived"
UK MPs urge separation of Financial Conduct Authority functions
Parliamentary committee suggests enforcement is separated from the FCA in a report on HBOS failure; the authority says this would inhibit its ability to act as a regulator
Irish central bankers take first look at effectiveness of macroprudential housing policies
Ireland’s central bank publishes examination of its first full year of operating macroprudential measures affecting the housing market; compares data on borrowers subject and free from limits
IMF changes method for calculating SDR currency amounts
IMF will switch to new SDR basket in October, including renminbi for the first time; calculation will use new rounding methodology aimed at minimising deviation from weightings
Nepal to introduce interest corridor in August
There will be an initial large ‘wedge’ between rates when first introduced, official says; policy rate and floor of corridors set in relation to interbank average
EBA lays out policy options to deal with NPLs
The European Banking Authority issues report on non-performing loans, calling for consideration of ‘bad banks’ and formations of databases on collateral assets such as real estate
Ratings agency fined €1.38 million by Esma for regulatory breaches
The European Securities and Markets Authority fines Fitch for improper discussions of information and mishandling timing of Slovenia’s sovereign downgrade
331,000 counterfeit notes withdrawn in H1 2016 – ECB
Figures show 80% of all the counterfeits were €20 and €50 notes; number of total counterfeits withdrawn in first half of 2016 lower year on year
Do not let resilience foster complacency, Carney tells G20
In his capacity as FSB chair Mark Carney acknowledges financial system resilience in the face of stress, but emphasises need to finish implementing post-crisis reforms
Menon pledges tougher measures on AML controls in Singapore
Ravi Menon says central bank will conduct more intrusive probes of higher-risk institutions and take stronger actions where practices fall short; monetary policy likely on hold for 2016
Irish central bank announces new protections for mortgage borrowers
Variable-rate housing loan borrowers must be informed of cheaper alternative mortgages and have rate rises explained to them by lenders
Turkish central bank to meet with investors under new comms practices
Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey announces string of new communication practices that will see it meet with wider range of stakeholders
EBA publishes final draft of IRB assessment methodology
The EBA publishes the final draft standards by which European regulators will assess banks’ compliance with the rules on using internal models to judge capital adequacy