News
Yellen defends relationship with White House
Fed chair tells congressional committee she did not discuss monetary policy with Treasury secretary or executive branch of government, when quizzed on ‘near-weekly’ meetings
State Bank of Pakistan mulls new target rate
New proposals aim to establish a new ‘target rate’ within the existing interest rate corridor; advisory committee on monetary policy will decide whether to adopt them next month
Poloz calls for ‘reinvention’ of central banking
Bank of Canada researching changes to its inflation targeting regime; Poloz asks how best how to incorporate financial stability into framework and avoid ZLB episodes
Lagarde raises doubts over Greek reform package
Troika institutions give Greek bailout package the go-ahead, but IMF managing director says current reform framework ‘is not conveying clear assurances’ in many areas
Yellen sheds light on lift-off communication
Fed chair discusses how the Federal Reserve will communicate its thought process on policy normalisation; rejects FOMC reform and Audit the Fed bill in congressional hearing
Israel and Turkey cut rates, hinting at further easing
Bank of Israel eases with one eye on the appreciating shekel; Turkey stands by its ‘cautious’ stance on interest rate cuts with 25bp reduction
Carney defends eurozone comments
Parliamentary committee questions appropriateness of BoE governor calling for fiscal union in Europe; Carney admits authorities outside eurozone were keen for him to make the comments
Clearing houses face privacy law concerns
US reporting requirements could force CCPs to break national privacy laws
UK regulators flesh out proposed punishments for bankers
Consultation papers set out details of how presumption of responsibility will work in practice, including narrowed scope, and seek to extend greater protections to whistleblowers
Greek debt deal marks start of rough road
Negotiations on Friday ended in a compromise stacked in Germany’s favour; although disaster has been temporarily averted there are more battles to come, and Greece’s funding remains tight
Azerbaijan devalues currency by a third
Central bank follows up last week’s decision to abandon its peg in favour of a currency basket by devaluing the manat by 34% against the US dollar
IMF eyes stronger transmission mechanism in Paraguay
Latest staff report advises the Paraguayan authorities to promote a ‘well-functioning’ interbank market and create stronger incentives for ‘de-dollarisation’ in the economy
Islamic finance: Nigerian central bank reveals shape of advisory body
Central Bank of Nigeria publishes guidelines for the Financial Regulation Advisory Council of Experts, charged with offering ‘expert advice’ on the industry and approving new products
Canadian deputy reveals new indicator of inflation expectations
Bank of Canada launches new household survey; Agathe Côté says the 'power of our new tool will truly reveal itself’ after a couple of years, but early indications are ‘promising’
Fed officials grapple with lift-off details
Minutes from January FOMC meeting reveal extensive discussion about the tools at the Fed’s disposal when it wants to raise rates; idea of higher cap for overnight RRPs explored
More reforms needed to tackle CCP risks, warns IMF paper
Significant risks remain despite efforts to improve the resilience of central counterparties, IMF working paper warns; direct access to central bank facilities would help
Carstens picked to head IMFC
Bank of Mexico governor will succeed Tharman Shanmugaratnam as head of the IMF’s International Monetary and Financial Committee
Turkish MPC could face lawsuit
If convicted central bankers could face jail term over refusal to cut rates, but spokesman says central bank law protects policy-makers from prosecution relating to conduct of their duties
Banks claim trading book rules will hit hedges
Regulatory measures of risk would leap 133% for some positions, warns ING, as regulators press ahead with plans to limit diversification benefits
Central Bank of Nigeria abandons FX window
Latest attempt to halt the sliding currency sees central bank cease to offer foreign exchange auctions, but interventions continue in the interbank market
ECB publishes first minutes
European Central Bank releases an ‘account’ of the discussion at the governing council meeting in January, which saw it launch quantitative easing in the eurozone
Greek crisis meeting gets go-ahead despite German challenge
A meeting of the Eurogroup will take place Friday after Greece yesterday sought a six-month bailout extension, but Germany has moved quickly to challenge the proposed compromise
Outgoing Belgian governor takes ECB role
Luc Coene named as one of four ECB representatives on the SSM supervisory board, a role he will start after stepping down as National Bank of Belgium governor next month
Swift in talks with Fed and ECB on real-time payments
Swift’s Juliette Kennel and Carlo Palmers talk to Central Banking about the company's leap into real-time payments in Australia, and discuss launching similar systems in other countries