News
Bank of Italy creates secondary market for trading in its own shares
Italy’s central bank has created a secondary market for dealings in its own shares as part of a plan to limit individual firms’ holdings to 3% of total shares
Denmark outsources coin minting to Finland
Mint of Finland wins tender to produce krone coins, as National Bank of Denmark seeks to cut costs by closing down its coin and banknote operations
ECB governing council welcomes markets' increased risk appetite
Governing council members happy with increased risk appetite in eurozone and global markets, minutes show; worried by slow pace of structural reform and no clear trend of rising inflation
June hike an option but Fed officials split on prospect
Minutes from FOMC meeting in April show “most” participants happy to hike next month if incoming data continues to improve, but some suspect gains may not come fast enough
Sarb ‘pauses’ hiking cycle on improved inflation outlook
South African monetary policy committee votes five-to-one to leave rates on hold; governor stresses central bank is not reversing policy
HKMA prepares cyber security ‘fortification’
Monetary authority seeks to build a framework for assessing cyber risks as well as providing training and building infrastructure for sharing “threat intelligence”
Riksbank’s Skingsley sees potential in helicopter money
Small, open economies will have limited room for manoeuvre if global real rates stay low, so central bankers should be willing to consider more radical options, deputy says
People: Turkey gains a deputy as Brazil loses one
Kilimci promoted to deputy governor at Turkish central bank; Hamilton set to leave Brazilian central bank for role in new finance ministry; and more
Bank of Namibia conducts ‘sting operation’ on bribery concerns
Governor says two Chinese nationals attempted to bribe senior officials in an attempt to retrieve funds blocked under exchange control regulations
ECB looks to add eight more O&Ds to guide
European Central Bank proposes guidance on the application of another eight options and discretions in banking supervision; public consultation will run until June 21
IMF staff encourage central Asian economies to overcome ‘fear of floating’
Even in economies with supposedly free-floating currencies, central banks have a hard time resisting the urge to intervene, IMF report says
Central Bank of Barbados govt financing up 25% last fiscal year
Central bank continues to finance government deficit, despite IMF warnings; expects to still buy government debt, but at "lower levels"
Antti Heinonen says cash is still relevant in modern society
Former ECB head of banknotes says cash is still evolving to keep pace with new payments technology, and banknote designs are staying ahead of counterfeiters
Central bankers may talk too much, economist warns
The public's limited attention span might distort the intended message, publication warns; central bankers might consider talking less and delivering a more succinct message when they do
Czech president names two central bank board members
Czech president Milos Zeman appoints two new members to the central bank’s board; both are former colleagues of rumoured next governor Jiří Rusnok
Annual Target2 volumes fall, ECB announces
Transactions on the eurozone’s real-time gross settlement system fell to their lowest-ever level in 2015; ECB concerned this could threaten cost recovery
Ilan Goldfajn chosen to succeed Tombini as Brazilian governor
Former deputy picked to succeed Tombini at a time of economic contraction and high inflation; Fraga, a former governor, believes he is an “excellent” choice
Bank of Canada review explores inflation target renewal
Four articles consider various elements of the central bank’s inflation targeting framework; one charts growing influence of nominal wage rigidity on average wage growth
Mexican deputy Sánchez takes stock of easy policy in advanced economies
Manuel Sánchez explains how extraordinary monetary accommodation may be generating costs; tells audience in Mexico central bank policy co-ordination is a challenge
Czech central bank anticipates near-zero inflation in coming months
Czech central bank says monetary policy should have been easier; anticipates inflation falling towards zero in coming months but rising by end of 2016
RBI moves to curb concentrated credit risk
Central bank hopes new prudential measures will reduce banks’ “very high” exposures to large corporations and encourage firms to turn to capital markets for funding
Philippines announces new rate corridor
Central bank will introduce new lending and deposit facilities in June, with interest rates set either side of a lower policy rate
IMF’s Rennhack outlines challenges facing LatAm economies
Robert Rennhack sees terms of trade driving real exchange rates; tells audience in Mexico region as a whole is in recession
Building a fast, flexible and free DSGE model
A team at the New York Fed is part way through translating its DSGE model into Julia, a fast, open-source mathematical programming language