Bank of England (BoE)
Tackling the ‘human agency’ problem
Central banks are readying their communication strategies to mitigate a populist backlash against their post-crisis policies
Kohn worried about weight of expectations on Federal Reserve
The weight of expectations on the US Fed may be too high; the US is not as well placed as the UK to tackle another major crisis, says the former Fed vice-chair
Former Fed vice-chair Kohn on populism, top central bankers
Donald Kohn speaks to Christopher Jeffery about his fears for the Fed amid mounting populism, why he has few policy regrets and his experiences working with some of the world’s top central bankers
Sterling depreciation will increase pace of tightening, BoE says
Inflation will overshoot target for longer period, reveals latest Inflation Report, but raising rates will not help, BoE says; “extraordinary circumstances” call for delicate balancing act
BoE opts out of distributed ledger tech for new RTGS system
New central infrastructure needed for RTGS revival; wider range of settlement models could be integrated by adopting a broader group of participants
UK report sets out steps to unify payment services operators
Move would help drive “innovation and competition”, working group chairman says
Bank of England unveils money market code of conduct
Code is voluntary, but BoE expects market participants to sign up as it was drafted “by the market for the market”
Credit booms make for more severe recessions – BoE paper
Authors find credit growth is a more reliable predictor of the severity of recessions than debt
Influential UK committee chair Andrew Tyrie to step down
MP says he will not seek re-election, ending a 20-year career in parliament, during which he oversaw major changes to UK financial regulation
BoE’s Saunders hints at willingness to raise rates
MPC member signals he sees the UK economy running somewhat hotter than the consensus view suggests
Central banks could intervene on repo market function – BIS study
Markets still in a “state of transition” but some central banks might want to take action to mitigate adverse effects, CGFS report says
Carney: financial infrastructure is now ‘fit for purpose’ for fintech
Bank of England governor announces RTGS will be opened to a broader range of participants, with new blueprint expected in May
Financial integration enables EMs to improve trade integration – paper
BoE paper sheds light on relationship between foreign direct investment and international trade, highlighting the “substantial” economic effects for emerging markets
BBC claims ‘secret recording’ implicates BoE in Libor scandal
Phone conversation transcript suggests government and Bank of England put pressure on Barclays to lower its Libor submission
PRA and FCA to investigate Barclays’ chief executive
Jes Staley comes under fire for undermining whistleblowing regime after he sought to identify a whistleblower; board to impose “very significant” cut to bonus
Brexit will be ‘litmus test’ for global system – Carney
Global financial system has reached “fork in the road”, says Bank of England governor; UK financial firms told to submit robust set of Brexit contingency plans by July
BoE proposes ‘amended’ sharia-compliant fund
UK central bank could launch a fund as soon as 2018, the consultation paper says; the facility would be off balance sheet in the form of a special purpose vehicle
BoE’s Vlieghe: good policy is more than accurate forecasting
MPC member says doctors cannot forecast heart attacks, but are still pretty useful before and after the event
RBI’s Patel gets pay rise but remains cheap by G20 standards
RBI governor sees his pay increase somewhat relative to his predecessor, but other G20 governors and even other RBI staff earn substantially more
Uncertainty matters for forward guidance success – BoE paper
Authors show that introducing uncertainty generates significantly different macroeconomic effects, with implications for policymaking
Haldane: central banks could ‘gamify’ communications
The game Monopoly could be the next tool in central bank’s communication toolbox, Haldane says, warning complex language breeds distrust
BoE considers palm oil as tallow alternative for polymer notes
Bank of England issues polymer consultation after tallow controversy; palm oil will add £5 million to printing costs if adopted
UK launches new £1 coin
New £1 is the “world’s most secure coin”, mint claims, integrating new security features previously used solely for banknotes; businesses have until October 2017 to recalibrate machines
Sterling shorts could see sharp unwinding on Brexit day
As the start of the negotiation process between the UK and EU approaches, an already weak sterling faces more tests