News
Sri Lanka appoints new central bank governor
Arjuna Mahendran leaves central bank after enduring a turbulent 18 months; president appoints economist Indrajit Coomaraswamy as his successor
Sale by Hungarian central bank challenged on transparency grounds
Hungary’s central bank announces it has sold a nationalised bank to three groups of private investors; defends process as ‘transparent’, but local campaigners question move
Mexico hikes rates to stabilise peso depreciation
Bank of Mexico surprises markets with 50bp hike to stem currency depreciation; analysts see global risk factors contributing to exchange rate developments
Asian central banks shift bond funds towards local currency debt
Eleven East Asia-Pacific central banks agree to close fund for buying US dollar debt issued in the region and invest the money in local currency debt instead
Bhutan readies to sharpen ‘blunt’ policy instruments
Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan considering improvements to policy transmission; could involve new lending and deposit windows, departure from current base rate practices
DMO will not change course after Brexit vote
Head of the UK Debt Management Office stresses principles of predictability and transparency ahead of gilt auctions next week; market reaction to S&P’s downgrade was “extremely muted”
Monetary easing ‘likely’ required over summer, says Carney
Governor expects easing in wake of UK vote to leave the EU; announces additional weekly liquidity operations as part of response, but acknowledges limits to what BoE can achieve
Two banks fail Fed’s annual stress tests
Most bank holding companies pass the Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review, but Deutsche Bank Trust Corporation and Santander Holdings USA pulled up for “substantial weaknesses”
EBA chair calls for ‘deep-rooted changes’ in bank culture
Andrea Enria, writing in the Directory of Financial Regulators 2016, says more must be done to confine episodes of misconduct to the past
People: Sarb gets new comms head; Bulgaria and Portugal welcome new board members
Jabulani Sikhakhane joins South African Reserve Bank; Bank of Bulgaria gets new board member, while Bank of Portugal gets two
Mario Vella ‘expected’ to be new Maltese governor
Economist ‘expected’ to be in post on July 1, as it is considered ‘unlikely’ president will object to prime minister’s choice; opposition party is not happy with choice, however
CPMI-Iosco launch plan for two-hour cyber attack recovery
First internationally agreed guidelines for cyber resilience tell FMIs to plan for resumption of services within two hours of an attack; firms will have 12 months to prepare
Russian public to vote on new banknote designs
The 200 and 2,000 ruble notes will bear symbols of Russian cities voted on by public; winning designs announced in October 2016, notes to enter circulation in 2017
Fed’s Powell sees potential for ‘new headwinds’ in Brexit
Governor says global risks to US outlook have increased in the wake of the UK’s vote to leave the EU
Draghi: Central bankers must align policies
ECB president calls for greater alignment and better communication of economic policy across national borders; calls for globally co-ordinated fiscal expansion on lines of 2008-09
Reserve Bank of Malawi to improve monetary policy architecture
Bank moves towards fully fledged inflation targeting, embracing interest rate-based framework; IMF staff note importance of maintaining tight monetary policy
Ukraine unveils new asset disposal system in bid to reduce corruption
Anti-corruption campaigner joins central bank governor and other officials in announcing move towards unified online system for selling assets of insolvent banks
BoE injects £3.1bn liquidity into UK banks
First post-referendum liquidity auction sees banks draw £3.1 billion in long-term repos, mostly against the weakest eligible collateral class
Danish central bank urges Basel to rethink parameter floors
Lars Rohde warns parameter floors in IRB approaches could create an incentive for greater risk-taking in some markets, in response to Basel Committee consultation
Brexit wrong-foots some reserve managers
The sharp sell-off of UK assets following its decision to leave the European Union will create buying opportunities for others
Sri Lankan governor will not seek reappointment until inquiry passes
Arjuna Mahendran says he will not apply for reappointment until the parliamentary committee publishes the findings of a probe into bond issuance; his first term expires on June 30
Dombrovskis replaces Hill in leading work on Capital Markets Union
Britain’s European finance commissioner resigns following referendum to be replaced by former Latvian PM; political timetable likely to delay further integration moves, analyst says
BIS: Central banks playing for 'high stakes' as financial cycles turn
Central banks need to lean against financial cycles but fiscal policy should come to their aid, BIS says; cycles may be turning in opposite directions in advanced and emerging economies
Analysts see intervention challenge for central banks
Following the fallout of EU referendum result, central banks step in to stabilise currency movements; analysts expect volatility to continue, but see challenges to intervention