News
Yellen bats away calls for simple rules-based policy
Fed chair tells Committee on Financial Services a monetary policy rule based on two economic variables is inappropriate as ‘the world is more complicated than that’
Bank Negara Malaysia personnel under police investigation over alleged leak
Alleged leakage of documents from high-level probe involving PM a potential violation of official secrets act; central bank personnel among staff from four institutions under investigation
IMF calls for Greek debt relief ‘far beyond’ EU plans
Memo warns public debt is ‘highly unsustainable’ and European leaders will need to provide much greater debt relief than they have discussed up to this point
UK’s Treasury Committee raises concerns over FPC accountability
MPs question whether Financial Policy Committee discussions are adequately represented by meeting records; wide-ranging discussion takes in liquidity issues, 'too big to fail' and stress testing
Bulgaria names Dimitar Radev central bank governor
Parliament appoints former IMF economist Dimitar Radev as governor of the Bulgarian National Bank, bringing to an end Ivan Iskrov’s 12-year reign
Greek bank holiday sparks swaps contract chaos
Extended bank closure leaves derivatives payments by end-users in limbo
US report finds ‘no single cause’ of October 15 volatility in Treasury market
Staff from five bodies, including the Fed board of governors and New York Fed, analyse data from unusual bout of volatility in the US Treasury market last year
BoE officials say UK may be starting to throw off productivity woes
There are signs the UK may be emerging from the ‘long, dark tunnel’ of weak productivity, officials tell the Treasury Committee; government’s minimum wage plans may be a positive factor
Former Afghan governor returns for second term
Khalilullah Sediq takes over for a second time as governor of the Bank of Afghanistan, following a spell in the private sector
Thai Government Pension Fund eyes deeper bond futures market
Thailand's $23 billion Government Pension Fund is one of the institutions that wants to see the country's bond futures market build on the progress already made in equity and forex derivatives
European leaders strike Greek deal but hurdles remain
All-night session ends in Greece agreeing to a tough reform package, but finance ministers continue to debate possible bridge financing and national parliaments must still give green light
ECB rolls out new website
Central bank revamps website with new design that puts greater emphasis on images, graphs and statistics; builds on bank supervision site launched in November
Yellen expects 'lift-off' later this year
Janet Yellen expects the Fed to raise the federal funds rate "at some point" in 2015 with full employment "coming closer into view" and inflation on track to return to 2% in the next few years
Provincial bond issuance could revive Chinese CDS market
China's CDS market has been languishing in the shadow of state protection – will the rising provincial bond market change this?
IMF wants new fund with ability to extend ELA in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Staff suggest creating financial stability fund that can provide liquidity support to stressed but solvent banks, which the currency board arrangement prohibits the central bank from doing
CPMI and Iosco launch first consistency assessment of FMI principles
'Level three' assessment will examine the consistency with which the Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures have been applied to central counterparties
Greek crisis enters critical weekend
Negotiations enter final days, with European authorities scrambling to assess whether new proposals go far enough; Greece has backers, but Germany must still be persuaded
Ex-BoE deputy to review UK statistics in effort to improve productivity measure
Charles Bean will lead an independent review on the ‘quality, delivery and governance’ of economic statistics produced in the UK, as government grapples with productivity puzzle
De Grauwe says Greek crisis has shaken OMT credibility
Belgian economist says ECB’s decision not to use OMTs because of fears over Greek solvency may have fatally damaged the policy’s credibility and consequently the stability of the eurozone
New swaps margin hub aims to solve disputes pre-call
Matching up risk factors should avoid collateral headaches, hub hopes
FSB highlights ‘major steps’ toward reforming ‘Ibors’
Report finds administrators of Libor, Euribor and Tibor are making progress towards stronger interest rate benchmarks, with those in other jurisdictions advancing too
Irish SME report shows growth in new lending
Report published by Central Bank of Ireland shows annualised gross new lending at highest level since 2011, with the largest share channelled to the agricultural sector
Central banks cannot avoid fiscal impact, Bundesbank panellists warn
Academics and central bankers point to fiscal impact of monetary policy and lender of last resort function, raising the question of how much fiscal power central banks ought to wield
HKMA introduces ‘major' piece of financial infrastructure to facilitate China flows
New routing and settlement service will underpin mutual recognition of funds initiative launched July 1; will enhance Hong Kong's role as ‘leading asset management centre', says Pang