Federal Reserve System
Fed’s Yellen sees little evidence of stability danger from easy policy
Janet Yellen defends accommodative stance of US monetary policy; says there is no ‘pervasive evidence’ that policies are causing overheating
Fed demands more detailed 'living wills'
Federal Reserve and FDIC request additional information on risks that could derail resolution plans for largest bank holding companies, including issues of international co-operation
Central bank remits have little impact on policy
Bank of England MPC member says the weight central banks ascribe to output and employment makes little difference to the monetary policy they follow
Central banks 'getting away with murder', says currency investor
Central banks are pursuing the wrong policies and will find it difficult to know when to tighten monetary policy, says Axel Merk
Plosser: Fed should cut asset purchases now
Philadelphia Fed president says there has been ‘substantial improvement’ in US economy and labour market; sees scope to taper asset purchases now and end programme altogether in 2013
IMF annual report says asset bubbles among risks of ‘MP-plus'
IMF warns of risk associated with loose monetary policy in the world's biggest economies, but says stance should remain 'very accommodative until recovery is well established'
Disjointed regulation could spell end of global banking era
Report says global banks must move faster with reform if their global operations are to weather the 'balkanisation' of financial markets caused by mismatching regulation between jurisdictions
FOMC members saw QE continuing ‘through midyear’ at March meeting
Participants at the FOMC’s last meeting broadly agreed to continue QE at existing pace ‘through midyear’ but failed to reach a consensus on when to slow asset purchases
Bernanke says Fed stress tests were a ‘critical turning point’ in crisis
Fed chair says stress tests offer macro-prudential dimension to supervision; US banks have more tier 1 common equity under a severe stress scenario than they did in reality in 2008
Fed tightens rules for retail forex banking
Federal Reserve publishes final rules for banks engaging in foreign exchange transactions with retail customers; includes requirements for risk disclosures, good conduct, capitalisation and margining
US non-farm payroll stats strengthen case for more QE
Boston Fed president joins calls to continue QE programme as US employment recovery falters
Yellen calls quantitative thresholds a ‘major improvement’ in forward guidance
Federal Reserve vice-chair justifies move to unemployment-based guidance; says clear ‘exit principles’ are important for ending quantitative easing safely
San Francisco Fed president predicts mid-year asset purchase slowdown
John Williams says economy has shifted into ‘higher gear’ and a substantial labour market improvement could trigger decline in asset purchases
Fed doves disagree over FOMC's next move
Boston Fed’s Rosengren sees scope to continue asset purchases at current rate throughout 2013; Cleveland Fed’s Pianalto wants to slow programme down if labour market improvements hold
McKinnon says Fed must raise rates to stimulate growth and employment
Leading academic says positive real interest rates are the only way out of a credit crunch that's holding back lending to the productive economy
Fed ‘stimulus’ chokes indirect finance to SMEs
Low interest rates in the US are crowding out indirect finance to SMEs and distorting financial markets generally. The Fed needs to act by raising rates to 2%, argues Ronald McKinnon
Fed working paper measures FOMC comms effect against theory of UIP
Paper finds 'little evidence' for a changed relationship between FOMC announcements and US interest rates since the 'onset of the zero lower bound'
US agencies clamp down on leveraged lending
Fed, FDIC and OCC issue updated standards for leveraged lenders amid concerns standards are again slipping and many institutions have ‘proven less than satisfactory’ in risk management practices
Fed pays $88bn in profits to US Treasury
Federal Reserve makes large profit on securities holdings in 2012; follows warnings from Ben Bernanke and Fed researchers that remittances are not likely to remain elevated
BoJ changes represent the death knell for central bank independence
The growing policy crisis caused by central banks taking on roles beyond price stability and lender of last resort is not down to 'independence' – as the BoJ case points out
Fed stress tests reveal potential for losses of $460 billion
Stress tests show banks would suffer heavy losses if another financial crisis hits, with some hovering very close to the US Federal Reserve’s minimum core capital requirements – and one falling below
Fed’s Beige Book optimistic on labour market
Economic expansion still ‘modest or moderate’ in most Federal Reserve districts; labour market conditions improving but hiring is restrained
Philadelphia Fed president demands end to QE
Charles Plosser says asset purchases should be phased out gradually and halted before the end of the year; ‘meagre benefits’ are outweighed by threat to price stability
Top US regulators restless over too-big-to-fail
Fed’s Jerome Powell and FDIC’s Martin Gruenberg stress the need for ongoing progress in bid to eliminate ‘too-big-to-fail’ problem