Official Record
Central Bank of Aruba 2012 annual report highlights drop in inflation
Average annual inflation in the Caribbean territory dropped from 4.4% in 2011 to 0.6% last year; says international reserves 'remained adequate'
RBA monetary policy statement says currency is too strong
Depreciation of the Australian dollar to the start of August has since been undone by the postponed Fed taper and positive Chinese data; weaker dollar will be needed to achieve balanced growth
Chilean policy-makers grow concerned over inflation
Central Bank of Chile board members voice concerns over persistently low inflation in their October monetary policy meeting; vote to cut key policy rate for first time in 18 months
Bank of Thailand lowers growth and inflation forecasts
Central bank says Thailand’s rising debt burden and falling consumer confidence are holding back domestic demand, which in turn is slowing the pace of growth and inflation
PMA attributes inflation disparity to Egyptian smuggling
The Palestine Monetary Authority blames the divergence between inflation in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip partly on the cheap goods being smuggled into Gaza from Egypt
Netherlands Bank says macro-prudential tools have ‘added value’ in currency union
Dutch central bank points to national and regional benefits of macro-prudential policy; says the ECB’s ability to intervene in an individual country’s policy will help counter the ‘inaction bias’ of policy-makers
Bank of Canada holds rates despite drop in growth and inflation forecasts
Governing council holds key policy rate at 1% despite suggesting inflation will take two years to return to target; says economy is rebalancing but the process will ‘take longer than previously projected’
Productivity still a puzzle for Bank of England MPC
Latest minutes show the monetary policy committee still does not really understand what is driving falling unemployment and rising productivity; inflation pressures seen softening slightly
Fed’s Beige Book reveals ‘modest’ employment growth
Summary of the economic conditions across the 12 Federal Reserve districts finds both employment and economic activity were ‘modest’ in September, while price pressures were ‘limited’
Swedish policy-makers clash on mortgage risk weights
Heads of Sveriges Riksbank and Swedish Financial Services Authority disagree over where to set the risk-weight floor on mortgages
BIS praises ‘complex’ payments reform in Macedonia
New payment system implemented near the turn of the century created a more efficient and sophisticated industry; potential EU membership driving additional reforms
NPLs hold back Serbian banks as economic imbalances remain, says central bank
National Bank of Serbia financial stability report warns change in the behavioural pattern of European banks; says Fed taper could bridle domestic credit and economic growth in the medium term
Netherlands Bank says ECB’s asset quality review necessary to restore market confidence
Dutch central bank says lack of market confidence is making it difficult for European banks to build stronger balance sheets, and that the ECB’s asset quality review will help address this
Demand for Bank of Portugal online stats grew 51% in 2012
The central bank’s website received more than 55,000 visits last year, with the statistical service offered online and on mobile devices the most popular feature
Central Bank of Ireland urges continued austerity despite slowdown
Any scaling back of fiscal adjustment runs risk of unwinding positive effects of €28 billion consolidation effort ‘for the sake of small short-term fiscal easing', bank argues in quarterly bulletin
Central Bank of Chile minutes reveal concern over slowing Brics
Slowdown in countries including Brazil, India, Indonesia and South Africa likely to have adverse effect on rest of the emerging world as well, board members say
BoE's financial policy committee publishes latest minutes
UK macro-prudential regulator says it will prioritise medium-term capital framework for banks, ending ‘too big to fail', and transform shadow banking
HKMA reviews progress on global financial regulation
Bulletin article outlines the stabilisation options that member jurisdictions should have access to in the event that a too-big-to-fail bank does just that
RBNZ rings changes in policy frameworks
Annual report highlights changes in how Reserve Bank of New Zealand is organised, the way in which it formulates policy and the tools at its disposal
Minutes reveal Riksbank reluctant to give up say on macro-prudential matters
Deputies say democratic accountability is more about who has the right to make decisions than achieving policy objectives; see ‘clear link' between macro-prudential policy and monetary policy
BoE's Tucker clarifies FPC's macro-prudential powers
Article gives details of the inner workings of the Financial Policy Committee, including powers of direction and recommendation, its accountability and powers to hide information from the public
Croatia under threat from falling growth and rising debt
Public debt is capped at 60% but is now approaching that limit; there are further signs of weakness in the Croatian and European real economies
RBA looks to exchange rate
The Reserve Bank of Australia keeps the door open for further rates cuts but emphasises that a weaker currency ‘would be helpful’ in boosting demand
Hungary council members divided over rate drop
Central Bank of Hungary monetary council members were split over the size of last month’s rate cut; minutes from August meeting signal that easing cycle is winding down