News
New Bank of Zambia powers help tackle tax avoidance
Amendment to Bank of Zambia Act bolsters central bank's ability to monitor flows of capital in and out of the country; economists suggest money could be ‘leaking out'
IMF issues warning to Asian central banks on risk of overheating
Regional Economic Outlook says some Asian central banks may need to tighten policy to avoid stability risks; examines complicated effects of Japanese monetary easing
People: Bank of Italy's Saccomanni becomes Italian finance minister; Kuroda replaced at ADB
Director-general at Italian central bank gets top government role; Takehiko Nakao moves from Japanese finance ministry to head Asian Development Bank
Sri Lankan governor defends economy against stories of ‘economic doom and mismanagement’
Ajith Cabraal says local and foreign stakeholders are being misled over the true state of the Sri Lankan economy; central bank may cut rates if inflation continues to fall
Central bankers back equity investment for reserves
Almost two-thirds of respondents to CentralBanking.com poll believe central banks should invest some of their reserves in equities; most say investment should be kept below 10% of portfolio
CCP ‘armageddon’ could lead to sovereign default, warns HSBC executive
Single bank default could affect multiple CCPs, leading to crippling default contribution for existing members and a chain of bank failures
SNB's Jordan slams gold referendum
Thomas Jordan says limiting Swiss National Bank's control over gold reserves would be ‘detrimental to Switzerland'; reveals location of holdings in face of public pressure
People: New governor for Central Bank of Venezuela; Bank of Lithuania gets new board member
Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro has nominated Edmée Betancourt to take over at the top of the central bank; Norges Bank economist to return home for Bank of Lithuania board seat; and more
BoJ board more optimistic on inflation forecast
Updated forecasts by board members show expectations creeping closer to 2% target; lack of further monetary easing disappoints markets
Hong Kong consolidates dominance as offshore RMB hub
HKMA annual report shows continued rapid rise in renminbi trade flowing through Hong Kong; new Hibor fixing seen as latest manoeuvre to stay ahead of competition
Winston Churchill to appear on Bank of England’s next new banknote
UK set to release new £5 banknote series in 2016 featuring portrait of former prime minister Winston Churchill; honours his parliamentary and literary work
IMF calls for unconventional measures to tackle eurozone fragmentation
David Lipton says ECB will probably have to use unconventional measures to overcome credit crunch in peripheral eurozone members
Hong Kong to launch offshore renminbi benchmark rates
Treasury Markets Association plans to introduce a range of offshore renminbi interbank rates, to ‘spearhead’ development of offshore renminbi markets
Korean economy defies won strength to return to growth
South Korean economy posts strongest quarter-on-quarter growth in two years; currency remains "moderately weaker than desirable", according to IMF
Ireland chases €1bn saving with payments overhaul
Central bank launches new initiative to curb high cash and cheque use and boost electronic payments; proposals include possibility of scrapping one and two cent coins
Banks to blame for regulatory fragmentation, says Basel Committee’s Coen
Bank lobbying has encouraged national supervisors to water down global standards, says deputy secretary-general of Basel Committee
Omani central bank to join government drive for more SME lending
Omani authorities hope to increase jobs in the private sector by stimulating the flow of credit to small and medium-sized companies
ECB says ‘difficult to do more’ as pressure mounts for more action
Further deterioration in eurozone data leads some to predict ECB rate cut at May meeting and possible SME ‘support package’; ECB executives signal action still unlikely
ECB’s Cœuré says cashless society is neither likely nor desirable
Executive board member believes cash is too popular to phase out, but should be made more efficient; €5 note awareness campaign shows mixed results
Fed to release new $100 bill in October after three-year delay
New $100 bill with new security features is finally ready to enter circulation, after 'creasing' issues caused delays in 2011
Bank of England ups incentives for increased SME lending
BoE in conjunction with Treasury introduces new incentives in a bid to get credit to struggling small business sector
Australia to shift 5% of foreign reserves to China
Deputy governor Philip Lowe reveals the Reserve Bank of Australia will invest around 5% of its foreign exchange reserves in China; Asian economists divided over significance of move
European Parliament claims substantive agreement on EU bank resolution legislation
Vote on legislation for harmonised recovery and resolution processes postponed till May, but European Parliament says it has reached agreement on all the main points
Barnier takes Bernanke to task over foreign bank rules
Letter from European commissioner to Fed chief says proposed rules for foreign banks put global efforts at regulatory harmony in jeopardy and could spark ‘protectionist reaction’