Banque de France (BdF)
Weidmann: GDP-linked bonds an ‘avenue worth exploring’
Eurozone countries should explore merits of GDP-linked bonds, Bundesbank president argues; says move could help revision of sovereign risk weightings and cites Bank of England work
Eurobonds could be double-edged sword, researchers say
Banque de France researchers propose a new model of banks’ holdings of own-country sovereign debt; high holdings deter moral hazard but may exacerbate crises, they say
FinCoNet offers regulators chance to advance financial consumer protection – chairman
The association of national financial consumer protection agencies has made progress in supporting reform, but has considerable work ahead, chairman Sheridan says
French governor calls for ‘gradualism’ in fintech regulation
François Villeroy de Galhau sees merits in “proportionate adaptation” of regulations for fintech companies; other contributors to latest FSR argue in favour of same rules for same risks
Paper explores monetary policy and bank liability structure
Banque de France working paper analyses US banking data from 1994 to 2008; provides new empirical support for bank lending channel of monetary policy, author argues
Lower real interest rates may harm productivity growth, researchers say
Lower real interest rates may reduce productivity growth rates, researchers say; Italy and Spain have suffered low or negative TFP growth during existence of euro
Villeroy de Galhau calls for eurozone finance minister
Banque de France governor calls for single eurozone finance minister to co-ordinate fiscal and structural policy; warns of dangers of “overburdening monetary policy”
Inflation expectations well-anchored, Richmond Fed president says
Lacker tells audience at Banque de France he believes expectations are anchored, despite drop in inflation compensation; Villeroy de Galhau notes drop in market-based measures in eurozone
Eurozone sovereign debt crisis has increased financial fragmentation, paper argues
Eurozone corporate bonds have different risk premia according to which country a company is headquartered in, paper argues; fragmentation has ‘dampened effectiveness’ of ECB policy
German and French central bank heads back creation of eurozone Treasury
Weidmann and Villeroy de Galhau issue joint call for more integrated eurozone, potentially including joint treasury; alternative would mean different approach to sovereign risk
Banque de France governor wants public reforms
France must cut its public debt and reform its labour market, says Francois Villeroy de Galhau; the governor also calls for new investment products
French governor weighs up ‘disruptive effects’ in card payments market
François Villeroy de Galhau discusses ‘main trends’ influencing card payments market, including ‘new solutions, new behaviours and players, new regulations’
Villeroy de Galhau and Fischer express caution over inflation target change
There could be costs to changing inflation targets in response to persistent low inflation, say François Villeroy de Galhau, Christian Noyer and Stanley Fischer
Financial market risk being pushed into ETFs, Noyer warns
Central bankers must develop oversight of ETFs and similar securities, Noyer tells farewell seminar; must also convince markets and public of opposition to low inflation and deflation
French and German central banks cut inflation projections for next two years
Falling energy prices main factor in downward revision of German and French central banks’ projected inflation rates for 2016 and 2017
Shift to single currency increased volatility of money growth, paper argues
The shift to European monetary union had a major impact on the volatility of money growth rates in the eurozone, a working paper from the Banque de France argues
Heterogeneous beliefs may weaken effect of forward guidance, paper argues
Fixed-date and state-contingent guidance by the Federal Reserve led some market expectations to converge, but heterogeneous beliefs about inflation and consumption persisted
Chinese slowdown could be harder than many economists think, paper argues
Chinese potential growth could be lower and its coming slowdown harder than many think; growth could slow to 5% annually by 2020, says French working paper
Three eurozone central banks to trial reverse auctions of securities
The central banks of France, the Netherlands and Lithuania will hold reverse auctions of securities under the public sector purchase programme; trial will run for one month
Noyer wants tailored approach to shadow bank regulation
Banque de France governor highlights the risks of a ‘one size fits all’ approach to regulation across the banking and shadow banking sectors
French economists protest against choice of central bank governor
One hundred and fifty French economists publicly question whether François Villeroy de Galhau faces conflicts of interest as central bank governor
Former COO of BNP nominated as Banque de France governor
François Villeroy de Galhau picked by French president to succeed Christian Noyer as central bank head; past experience includes BNP Paribas and French treasury
Bundesbank's Weidmann to replace Noyer as chair of BIS board in November
The Bundesbank president will take over as chairman of the BIS board of directors when Christian Noyer retires from Banque de France next month
Equity price growth rate ‘leading indicator’ of bank loans, French paper argues
Comparing two models of domestic credit dynamics to recent French data shows the importance of equity price growth rates, according to a Banque de France working paper