News
Fed’s Raskin urges lenders to put housing market before profits
Federal Reserve Board member Sarah Raskin calls on mortgage service providers to take moral “high road” and place recovery in housing market before profits
Spanish banks’ ECB reliance drops
Spanish banks’ borrowing from European Central Bank declines just over 20% compared to December
Bond purchase frictions convinced Weber to drop out of ECB race
Bundesbank's Axel Weber says divergent views on ECB’s bond purchases meant he was no longer an acceptable candidate to succeed Trichet; stresses he was right to stick to his guns
Weber to quit Buba in April
Bundesbank confirms president will step down in coming months; term was due to end in 2012
Lebanon’s Salameh defends scandal-hit bank
Bank of Lebanon governor Riad Salameh offers support to Lebanese Canadian Bank after accusations by US Treasury of ties to illicit activities and terrorist organisations
Bank amends collateral rules for sovereign debt
Revisions adjust ‘narrow’ and ‘wide’ bands for eligible collateral; change is for liquidity reasons
UBS investment chief claims Swiss capital ratios too high, won’t hold
Chief executive of UBS’s investment bank Carsten Kengeter suggests 19% capital requirement may be watered down; says rules will “always be broken”
DSK moots reserves role for SDR
IMF's Strauss-Kahn says ‘stockpiling’ special drawing right would create a more stable global monetary order
Warsh quits Fed
Federal Reserve board member Kevin Warsh plans to step down from Fed seven years before term ends
IMF guilty of ‘group think’, says Fund watchdog
Independent Evaluation Office says IMF’s cohesiveness in period leading up to the financial crisis prevented fund from spotting impending risks
SEC moves to cut ratings out of registration requirements
US Securities and Exchange Commission proposes rule striking investment-grade rating condition from short-form registration process for companies issuing securities; move mandated by Dodd-Frank
FSA, Bank call for closer dialogue with auditors
Financial Services Authority releases draft code targeted at enhancing communication with auditors
Egypt's banks gradually reopen
Central Bank of Egypt says 396 more branches will reopen on Thursday and resume normal working hours; stock exchange also to reopen
Weber does not plan on second term: Bundesbank source
Bundesbank president Axel Weber set to quit central bank in spring 2012 at the latest
Israel’s Fischer calls for international FX rules
Bank of Israel governor Stanley Fischer calls on IMF to draw up set of international rules on foreign exchange intervention
Britain gets banks to agree on £10 billion boost to SMEs
UK’s chancellor George Osborne strikes deal with Britain’s largest banks to lend £10 billion more in funds to SMEs; Bank of England to report on banks’ contribution in next Trends in Lending report
Bank’s inflation argument ‘fanciful’: ex-MPC’s Julius
Former Bank of England rate-setter DeAnne Julius says inflation expectations risk becoming unmoored; monetary policy acting for financial stability, ex rate-setter Tim Besley adds
Ex-Bank economists parry fears of wage-price spiral
Upsurge in inflation will not pass through into wages, economists at Fathom Consulting believe
Southern Sudan should adopt currency board: IMF mission chief
Fund’s Sudan mission chief Edward Gemayel says simplicity of currency board system advantageous for soon-to-be country; South preparing to adopt new currency
Fed wants right to choose which nonbanks pose systemic threat
Federal Reserve rule proposes that it will have discretion to determine whether nonbank financial firms come under Financial Stability Oversight Council’s watch on case-by-case basis
Central banks accused of collateral hypocrisy
Despite the funding risk it creates, central banks still refuse to sign two-way collateral agreements
Spain should consider regulatory overhaul: FSB peer review
Financial Stability Board peer review calls for Spanish authorities to consider new regulatory structure once market turmoil has subsided; separate review of Italy also published
PBoC hikes rates again
People’s Bank of China raises rates for second time in less than two months amid rising food prices; analysts predict further rate hikes this year
Czech President names new rate-setter
Czech economist Lubomír Lízal to replace Robert Holman on Czech National Bank rate-setting committee; bank board member Pavel Řežábek reappointed for second term