International Monetary Fund (IMF)
IMF: Pan-African banks pose oversight challenges
Report highlights need to reconcile regional and national interests in currency unions in the continent to ensure effective regulation and supervision
Prasarn dismisses threat of deflation as headline rate goes negative
Thai governor pens letter to finance minister after headline inflation falls to -0.4% in January; IMF sees ‘scope for further easing' as two MPC members dissent on rate hold
IMF calls for reform at Madagascar central bank
Staff report says central bank needs greater independence and stronger oversight mechanisms; new audit committee on the way and government agrees to recapitalise institution
IMF backs Canada cut despite overvalued housing
Fund says central bank's decision to lower rates for first time in four years is ‘in line with staff advice'; says housing market overvalued by up to 20%
IMF paper examines sensitivity of house prices to global liquidity shocks
Researchers find prices in emerging markets respond ‘much more’ to a shock in the international supply of credit than in advanced economies
IMF report says ‘time has never been more right' to reform securitisation markets
Staff report emphasises need to make securitisation practices more robust while spurring demand; calls for standardised classifications of underlying risk characteristics
IMF paper rejects one-size-fits-all approach to financial inclusion
Working paper published by the IMF argues country-specific characteristics ‘play a central role’ in determining impacts of different policies aimed at improving financial inclusion
Research finds IMF lending helps limit future crises
Working paper published by IMF examines impact of lending programmes on developing countries between 1970 and 2010, finding they reduce likelihood of future banking crises
State Bank of Pakistan slashes rates to decade low
Governor Ashraf Mahmood Wathra strikes upbeat note despite inflation falling significantly below target, as central bank cuts interest rates by 100 basis points
Carney says eurozone QE 'absolutely necessary'
Bank of England governor says it will ‘create some of the necessary conditions’ for returning prosperity to the eurozone; discusses distributional consequences of monetary policy
New core inflation measure proposed in IMF paper
Measure proposed by researchers from IMF and Central Bank of Brazil takes into account both volatility and persistence, ensuring all relevant information is exploited
Lagarde: Divergent monetary policy could be a good thing
It could be 'helpful' for the global economy if the ECB eases more as the Fed starts tightening, Lagarde tells an audience in Davos; Summers warns eurozone QE not 'sufficient'
IMF: Central banks ‘must' ease if inflation expectations drop
Easing should be conducted through ‘other means' than interest rates if they are at ZLB, Fund argues in WEO update, which downgrades global growth forecast for 2015 to 3.5%
Honohan: EU-IMF programme a qualified success
Following conclusion of programme Central Bank of Ireland governor says it did 'what it said on the tin' by restoring market confidence and stabilising the economy
Lower productivity behind growth slowdown in African middle-income countries, IMF paper finds
Slowdown in total factor productivity 'largely responsible' for weaker growth in small middle-income African economies, authors argue
IMF gains one deputy managing director but loses another
Carla Grasso set to join as first-ever chief administrative officer, while Naoyuki Shinohara will leave at the end of his term; Lagarde praises his ‘trademark efficient and sharp insights’
IMF paper considers merits of macro-prudential liquidity buffer
Working paper asks whether such a buffer would be desirable, and how it might operate in practice; authors say it would complement other requirements including the LCR and NSFR
Reserve managers shun the euro, IMF data shows
International Monetary Fund data from the third quarter of 2014 shows a significant hit to euro reserves following negative interest rates
Bank of Jamaica set for new powers in 2015
Central bank on track to assume responsibility for financial stability; will start conducting annual reviews to track ‘readiness’ for full-fledged inflation targeting
IMF paper suggests looser monetary policy to offset eurozone macro-pru policies
Staff paper examining housing markets in Denmark, Ireland, Spain and the Netherlands also proposes restricting banks' ability to pay dividends in order to absorb losses
FSB definition of shadow banking paints 'incomplete picture', warns IMF paper
US and eurozone sectors similar in size according to working paper, which says other measures fail to account for ‘non-traditional banking activities carried out by the banks themselves'
FSB pushes countries to meet higher information exchange standards
Financial Stability Board publishes latest progress report on information sharing, with thirteen jurisdictions still lagging behind; updates list of ‘financially important’ economies
German investments would generate ‘beneficial' regional spillovers, finds IMF paper
The expansionary effect of higher public investment in Germany ‘substantially strengthened' when supported by an accommodative monetary policy stance, according to working paper
Bank of South Sudan keen for exchange rate reform
IMF report finds authorities keen to create a single exchange rate, launch two-way fixed rate auctions and establish an interbank market for foreign exchange