News
IMF report backs 'appropriate' Swiss currency floor
IMF supports Swiss National Bank currency floor policy; says floor is “appropriate" and discusses relative success to date
New deputy governor notes increasing Swedish economic dependency
Kerstin af Jochnick describes points of importance relating to monetary policy and financial stability; highlights growing dependency of Sweden on events abroad
Bahrain modernises cheque truncation system
Central Bank of Bahrain announces same day cheque clearing system will go live on May 13; system is part of initiative to improve efficiency and confidence in cheques
First CSDs sign T2S Framework Agreement
Senior European Central Bank officials commend first nine European central securities depositories to sign Framework Agreement for T2S central settlement project
Malawi devalues kwacha to boost economy
Malawi ends peg to dollar; hopes to speed government’s efforts to restart International Monetary Fund aid programme
Lagarde calls for ‘gradual’ austerity moves
Lagarde calls for gradual and country-specific approach to austerity; says supply-side measures needed to achieve sustainable growth
Estonia issues 50 million new coins
Bank of Estonia announces increased stock of 1- and 2-cent coins; also discusses new role in producing euro banknotes
BoE’s Tucker calls for international co-operation on bank resolution
Deputy governor of the Bank of England highlights challenges for policy-makers in setting up international resolution regimes and calls for cross-border vetting of resolution mechanisms
Bank of Lithuania names Rūta Rodzko director of economics and financial stability
Restructuring at Bank of Lithuania sees Rūta Rodzko appointed to lead new economics and financial stability service
Asian central banks urged to keep interest rates on hold
Chief economist of the Asian Development Bank urges caution from policy-makers regarding interest rates; says impact of eurozone bank deleveraging already incorporated into ADB’s growth forecasts
RBA fears downturn in Asia due to euro area contagion
Reserve Bank of Australia expresses fears about potential contagion from Europe hitting export markets in Asia
Basel Committee proposes scrapping VAR
Review recommends switch to expected shortfall, postpones CVA charge overhaul, and retains split between banking and trading books
Bank of Canada unveils new banknote
New C$20 polymer banknote unveiled by Bank of Canada; enhanced security features aimed at thwarting counterfeiters
Draghi calls for growth to top the agenda for eurozone
ECB president Mario Draghi calls for 'growth compact' to complement fiscal compact in eurozone; says individual countries need to meet responsibilities on fiscal consolidation
Gensler confident clearing location requirements will not be imposed
Regulators are unlikely to insist local currency OTC derivatives trades be cleared domestically, says CFTC chair Gary Gensler
Qatar central bank to launch interbank rate
Qatar Central Bank to launch interbank rate; first entry into market for gulf state, which will offer fixings across eight categories
King admits BoE should have done more to prevent banking crisis
Bank of England governor says central bank should have done more to prevent crisis despite its limited powers to act; says new resolution mechanism will not work for global banks
Fed’s Tarullo laments delays in shadow-banking reform
Federal Reserve’s Daniel Tarullo hits out at slow speed of money market and repo market reform; urges debate on functions that ‘shadow banks’ should perform
IMF’s Shinohara sees three ‘brakes’ on global growth
IMF deputy managing director tells ADB annual meeting that fiscal consolidation, bank deleveraging and foreclosures in the US pose substantial risks to global growth
Netherlands Bank appoints new chair of supervisory board
Alexander Rinnooy Kan to take office on July 1; replaces Fokko van Duyne, who has served maximum allowed term
Early warning system for systemic risk a 'huge challenge', say experts
The Office of Financial Research is charged with supplying data to help US regulators assess potential risks to the financial system but some experts are sceptical over what data should be used
Euro crisis drives up use of collateral in OTC derivatives, finds survey
Trouble in the eurozone increased use of collateral in over-the-counter derivatives market, according to trade association survey
New deputy enforcement head at SEC
New York office chief George Canellos moves to Washington, DC
HKMA strikes a cautious note on territory’s banking sector
Hong Kong Monetary Authority concerned about continued credit expansion in the territory and contagion risk from the European sovereign debt crisis