News
Liberian president’s son becomes acting governor
New acting central bank governor is Liberian president's son, source says; Charles Johnson Sirleaf has spent over 10 years at the central bank
End of sanctions offers chance to fix Iran’s banking sector
Iranian banks struggling with high levels of non-performing loans may see their situation improve, but deep reforms are needed and the political situation remains complex
Hungary central bank action ‘distorting’ swaps curve
The Central Bank of Hungary has offered up 1 trillion forint notional of cheap interest rate swaps, driving down bids for receiver swaps and government bond yields, say dealers
Argentina inches towards repaying debt
Montreux Partners LP and EM Ltd settle; four creditors yet to agree on removing injunction
Peso depreciation casts shadow over Mexico rate decision
Central bank adamant it is not in a hiking cycle after 50bp rise; government taking steps to enforce measures on Pemex
EBA publishes guidelines for co-operation agreements between deposit guarantee schemes
European Banking Authority lays out guidelines for agreements between EU deposit guarantee schemes; clear principles should lessen conflict and make mediation easier, authority says
Global growth has ‘flat-lined’, says OECD chief economist
Global economy expected to expand no faster than in 2015; current monetary policy stance ‘insufficient’ to spur growth
FOMC members agree uncertainty over US prospects has ‘greatly increased’
Global uncertainty and financial market volatility increases downside risk for US economy, FOMC members say; committee members express different views over use of fan charts in projections
People: Philadelphia Fed names first VP; five new vice presidents at AIIB
James Narron named vice-president and COO of Philadelphia Fed; five new vice-presidents join executive team at AIIB; and more
German constitutional court to rule on OMT ‘in a few months’
Germany’s constitutional court is reviewing the European Central Bank’s outright monetary transactions and their application under German law; decision expected 'in a few months'
BIS paper models self-generating financial crises
Authors set out DSGE model where financial crises can be triggered either by an external shock or the endogenous generation of credit booms and busts
Namibia hikes to ‘align’ rates in region
Bank of Namibia hikes by 25bp to 6.75%, following decision in South Africa in January after depreciation of rand hit inflation outlook
EBA sets out standards for weighing securitisation ratings
Institutions must take 'qualitative' approach to weighing credit agencies’ ratings of securities in the short term, EBA says; advocates move to 'quantitative' approach over longer term
Sarb seeks release of banknotes from detained plane
The South African Reserve Bank confirms an aircraft carrying a consignment of banknotes has been detained in Zimbabwe, after the discovery of a dead body
Bullard challenges ‘backward-looking’ language in Fed statement on goals
James Bullard reveals he disagreed with an element of the Fed’s statement on longer-run goals, believing it failed to capture the importance of future expectations to inflation targeting
Fed’s Kashkari: more needs to be done to end too-big-to-fail
Minneapolis Fed president says 'transformational' approaches, such as breaking up the largest banks, should be given “serious consideration” in quest to end too-big-to-fail
Nouy says increase in European banking spreads not ‘justified’
Recent rise in credit spreads for eurozone banks does not appear justified, given their high capital levels, Danièle Nouy tells the European parliament
Soaring inflation sees Mozambique hike by 100bp
Inflation reaches 11.25% in January as a result of food-price shock; central bank hikes while government attempts to focus on other figures
BoE and Vickers clash on capital rules
Both central bank and ring-fencing committee chair claim to have recommended higher capital requirements than the other – but a look at the proposals suggests the differences are slim
Visitors to ‘play policy-maker’ at new MAS gallery
Monetary Authority of Singapore launches latest financial literacy initiative; visitors able to ‘play policy-maker’ through interactive programs
Bulgaria launches asset quality review and stress tests
Bulgaria’s central bank will conduct an asset quality review of commercial banks, followed by stress tests; the move is in response to the 2014 failure of the country’s fourth-largest bank
‘No Basel IV’, Draghi tells European Parliament
Banks will not face significantly higher capital requirements, Mario Draghi tells the Econ committee; UK agreement with rest of EU should be “clear”
Financial variables improve output gap estimates, BoE paper finds
Adding financial variables to estimates of the output gap can allow policy-makers to spot trouble on the horizon more easily, authors say
Fiscal dominance can invert transmission mechanism, Lahiri and Patel find
Authors show ‘statutory liquidity requirement’ and fiscal dominance can invert the effects of monetary policy or render it impotent; suggest ‘rebalancing’ India’s reform agenda