News
Barbados central bank hires consultant to boost happiness
Leamon Group is brought in to improve happiness levels; governor Worrell draws a link between this and “exceptional performance”
People: Lithuania reappoints governor; Carstens retains BIS posts
Vitas Vasiliauskas handed second five-year term; Carstens will continue to chair the BIS’s global economy meeting and economic consultative committee; ex-Iceland governor to run for president
Fed presidents get to grips with weaker productivity data
John Williams and Neel Kashkari discuss short- and long-term factors that could be depressing productivity growth; latest data reveals further slide in quarterly figures
Eurozone finance ministers hold extraordinary meeting over Greece
Finance ministers meet in Brussels over Greek debt; recent negotiations marked by public disagreements between IMF and Greek government
Riksbank-FI merger not on the table – Swedish minister
Per Bolund says the government is not actively considering radical reform options discussed by the Riksbank, and defends Swedish approach to macro-prudential independence
Bolivia to get new largest denomination banknote
New 500 boliviano note will be part of first new series in almost 30 years; central bank estimates the project will cost around $45 million
Sama gets new governor in Saudi reshuffle
Deputy with experience at central bank and IMF takes over top post from Fahad Almubarak, as Saudi government shakes up major roles
German supervisors need more granular data – IMF staff
Staff say concerns about a housing bubble “look premature” but better data would help the authorities be prepared for imbalances; urge faster progress on structural reforms
Italian governor criticises bank resolution rules
Bank of Italy governor Visco says BRRD and European Commission policy may increase risk of financial instability
Polish president picks Adam Glapiński to lead central bank
Board member Glapiński needs approval from parliament before succeeding Marek Belka; both Belka and the markets expect an element of continuity
Norges Bank notes to feature innovative optical thread
Choice of security features swayed Norges Bank away from polymer; new series of notes to feature Crane security thread
Aussie dollar drops as RBA cuts inflation outlook
Reserve Bank of Australia cuts forecasts for headline and underlying inflation; lowered its key rate by 25bp to 1.75% earlier this week
People: Nagel leaves Bundesbank; GIC makes string of appointments
Joachim Nagel steps down from Deutsche Bundesbank executive board; Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund creates new posts and fills others; East African Community gets new secretary-general
New UK law confirms Bank of England governance reforms
Bank of England and Financial Services Bill receives royal assent, cutting number of MPC meetings to eight a year; National Audit Office role expanded, but not into policy
Riksbank adviser Segendorf offers insight into distributed ledger technology
Financial stability adviser evaluates the benefits of adopting distributed ledger technology and what effect digital currencies will have on cash
ECB scraps production of €500 note citing concern over illicit activities
The European Central Bank will stop producing the €500 note over concerns it facilitates criminal activities; move does not aim to increase the effectiveness of monetary policy, spokesman says
Philip Lowe picked as next RBA governor
Deputy governor Lowe will succeed Glenn Stevens, who says there is “no-one better qualified” to lead the Reserve Bank of Australia
Central banks may be at risk after Greek website attacked
Denial-of-service attack takes Bank of Greece website down for several minutes; reports point to hacking group Anonymous, and the potential for other central banks to be targeted
World Bank report sees risks if Mozambique continues to raise rates
Report praises efforts of central bank so far but says further tightening could harm certain sectors of the economy; exchange rate volatility having adverse effects on debt
IMF staff call for new macro-prudential tools in Denmark
Danish authorities told to consider placing limits on debt to income ratios; macro-prudential measures suggested by IMF staff to complement existing regulation
Riksbank minutes highlight effort to protect rising inflation
Executive board members saw potential for krona appreciation as a risk to inflation outlook; broad support for additional asset purchases, but some questions over size
Fed presidents navigate ‘mixed signals’
Dennis Lockhart is putting more weight on positive employment picture than disappointing growth stats; both he and Robert Kaplan see potential for labour force to expand
Draghi points to savings glut in some eurozone countries
Germany and others are contributing to a global savings glut, Draghi argues; renews call for structural reform and rejects appeals to curtail monetary expansion
Bank of Canada identifies first ‘prominent' payment system
The Automated Clearing Settlement System is considered "central" to Canadian payments and must now meet risk management standards based on global PFMI