News
BoE’s Forbes points to bias among overworked MPC members
Senior Bank of England officials are overworked and heavily scrutinised, which may make it harder for them to take tough decisions, Kristin Forbes says in her final speech as an MPC member
Malaysian government escalates investigation on historic forex losses
Commission will investigate heavy forex losses by the Malaysian central bank in the early 1990s, after task force finds evidence information was concealed
Bank of Canada prepares to open redesigned museum
Museum set to reopen in July after “complete reimagining”, including interactive exhibits on the central bank’s mandate, inflation-based games and a two-tonne “Yap stone”
Recovery increasingly resilient; inflation predictions down – ECB
GDP forecasts revised up and ECB says recovery is “broadening”, but inflation projections revised down
UK payments regulator unveils competition reforms
Reforms aim to open up UK payments infrastructure to competition, and include move to common messaging standards
Asset purchase programme is key to central bank credibility – ECB paper
Researchers analyse market reactions to unconventional monetary policy decisions
OCC warns on cyber risks from subpar patches at US banks
Regulator says banks have good track record overall, but exams reveal weaknesses
IMF urges ‘no favour, no obstacle’ approach to Islamic banking
Report urges countries to adopt more consistent prudential standards for Islamic banks and strengthen liquidity management frameworks
Commission should have power to order CCPs to relocate to EU – Cœuré
The power would be one among many, says ECB executive board member
BoE’s Haldane examines changing nature of work
Rise of “gig economy” and self-employment may have weakened wage-setting power among workers, the BoE chief economist says; he indicates a willingness to vote for a hike later this year
Indonesian banks will switch to reserves averaging in July
Latest move in Bank Indonesia’s major overhaul of monetary policy transmission and efforts to deepen financial markets
South African governor rejects calls to change mandate
Public protector calls for the central bank to drop the defence of the value of the rand
Little evidence to support ‘global slack’ thesis, ECB paper argues
Researchers say global spare capacity is not increasing as an influence on eurozone inflation
BoE economists criticise DSGE inflation modelling
Team including MPC member Kristin Forbes criticises structural modelling approaches for failing to properly account for trend inflation
BIS comes to the defence of globalisation
Increasing trade and financial integration have had a “profoundly positive” impact on people’s lives, but do bring drawbacks too; the correct response is not a wholesale rollback, says Jaime Caruana
Thai central bank warns on deteriorating debt serviceability
Bank of Thailand flags financial stability risks as weakening macroeconomic outlook impacts debts among SMEs and households
EBA calls for tighter money-laundering curbs on crowdfunding
EC should make consumer protection a “key” part of its fintech approach, the EBA says
No ‘Taylor rule’ without Meltzer’s support
John Taylor says he would “likely have done other things” if not encouraged by Allan Meltzer to develop the eponymous rule
Silvana Tenreyro picked for BoE MPC
LSE academic to take over from Kristin Forbes as external member of the monetary policy committee at the end of June
People: Fijian deputy takes over in interim as Whiteside departs; FCA chairman to step down
Fijian deputy governor takes over as interim governor as Whiteside departs; FCA’s John Griffith-Jones to leave next year; Fed’s payment system director to retire; and more
Greek bailout funds approved but debt relief still contentious
IMF agrees “in principle” to new support for Greece, unlocking European funds, but parties still fail to reach accord on debt relief
FCA regulatory sandbox success paves way for new firms to enter
UK regulator to accept 24 firms for sandbox testing in second phase; first cohort has completed six-month testing period and will be reviewed before “transitioning”
Panellists divided on merits of central bank digital currency
Sweden and Singapore unsure whether digital currencies will supersede cash in the near future; fintech innovation has the potential to increase competition in financial services
BSP piles pressure on banks to adopt new chip technology
Philippines central bank imposes “hard deadline” for banks to migrate to EMV technology, as initial target has been missed