News
Bahamas further relaxes capital controls
Specific sectors of the economy will be able to obtain foreign exchange from banks both at home and abroad; non-resident firms to gain credit from international banks licensed in the Bahamas
Basel Committee outlines enhanced disclosure framework
Revised Pillar 3 standard adds “dashboard” of banks’ key prudential metrics and consolidates all existing Basel Committee disclosure requirements
Ghanaian governor resigns after one year in office
Recent IMF staff report praises the central bank, but says Ghana faces challenges
BoE considers palm oil as tallow alternative for polymer notes
Bank of England issues polymer consultation after tallow controversy; palm oil will add £5 million to printing costs if adopted
Fed presidents lay ground for extra rate hike
Evans, Rosengren and Williams all signal the possibility of a fourth rate hike in 2017 if economy runs hot
Paraguay’s Valdovinos: bond issuance ‘not all about the money’
$500 million issuance was six-times oversubscribed, but the Paraguayan governor says its success lies in the message it sends to investors overseas
Ireland presents new financial consumer protection model
“More intrusive” model needed to counteract firms’ failure to change culture, bank says
Basel Committee to retain provisioning treatment as IFRS 9 launches
Committee admits differences across countries are likely to remain in the interim, while it works to design a new approach to the regulatory treatment of expected credit losses
Macedonia links up with EU payment infrastructure
Central bank announces local interbank payment system will connect with Target2 via the Bank of Italy; payments department manager says the development will enable smoother integration with the EU
People: Russia’s Elvira Nabiullina reappointed; SBV creates fintech group
Governor of the Bank of Russia handed a second term by Vladimir Putin; State Bank of Vietnam creates fintech committee; Haiti appoints fund director
Hungarian central bank sets out instant payments infrastructure plan
Company wholly owned by MNB to have system operational ‘by mid-2019’
Transparency International calls for major reforms of ECB governance
NGO says ECB should disavow role in ‘troika’ supervising Greek bail-out
UK launches new £1 coin
New £1 is the “world’s most secure coin”, mint claims, integrating new security features previously used solely for banknotes; businesses have until October 2017 to recalibrate machines
Sterling shorts could see sharp unwinding on Brexit day
As the start of the negotiation process between the UK and EU approaches, an already weak sterling faces more tests
Bank of Ghana starts to unwind tight monetary policy
Central bank slashes interest rates to 23.5% in largest cut since 2010; inflation shows signs of improvement but certain risks still loom over prices
Iran central bank slams latest asset freeze ruling
Luxembourg court freezes $1.6 billion of central bank assets amid terrorism compensation case; legal battle may have implications for Iran’s nuclear deal
Bank of Russia cuts policy rate
Elvira Nabiullina says Russia on course to hit 4% inflation target by year end
Bank of England launches first ‘exploratory’ stress test
BoE will assess banks’ longer-term resilience to periods of stagnation; cyclical test made tougher
BoE’s FPC sounds warning on implementation of global standards
FPC cautions on global co-operation around regulatory standards; follows plans for deregulation in the US and tit-for-tat threat from German regulators
Kenya’s Imperial Bank given 90-day lifeline
High court extends commercial bank’s receivership to allow shareholders and receiver to reach agreement; Kenya’s central bank takes first step toward removing licensing moratorium
Croatian governor warns of further financial crises
It is probably time for central banks to “get out” of expanded balance sheets, Boris Vujčić says
Bank of Canada’s C$460m refurbishment on time and on budget – Poloz
Construction workers have spent past three years gutting old head office and renewing interior to meet modern standards; annual report sheds light on costs
SEC nominee flip-flops on Dodd-Frank rollback
Rules mandated by statute must be adopted by regulators, Clayton concedes
Women on policy boards support prudent decision-making – research
Paper examines the impact of women on monetary policy decision making; authors’ results reveal the presence of women tends to lead to more “hawkish” decisions