International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Lagarde sees black clouds over monetary policy normalisation
IMF managing director underlines risk of spillover effects as Fed winds down monetary easing; says ‘asynchronous’ normalisation could come back to bite advanced economies
IMF encourages Kenya central bank to set-up forecast unit
Staff report with Kenya praises the evolution of the central bank’s forecasting model and recommends creation of dedicated unit; wary of rising food prices and credit growth
IMF flags up uneven application of shadow banking regulations
Report finds ‘indications of increased market and liquidity risk' in sector; China ‘stands out and warrants particular monitoring'
IMF warns of new asset bubbles caused by ‘expansionary policies' post-crisis
Report finds global imbalances are shrinking, and concludes this is driven by structural reduction in demand rather than ‘expenditure switching' to domestic products
Paper finds evidence of multiplier effect in food trade policy
IMF working paper studies the relationship between trade policy and food prices and finds evidence of a multiplier effect in its data sample
ECB’s Coeuré shifts focus to the quality of credit
European Central Bank executive board member Benoit Coeuré outlines policy mix needed to channel credit towards productive investment; expects more demand for TLTROs
Julio Suárez appointed next Bank of Guatemala president
Vice-president has been appointed to lead the central bank by the Guatemalan government, and will take office on October 1
Lower outside demand and structural bottlenecks explain EM slowdown, IMF paper finds
Slowdown a ‘remarkable feature for a non-crisis period' in emerging economies that was largely unanticipated by scholars and forecasters, paper notes
State-owned banks played counter-cyclical role in EMs following financial crisis
Credit growth by foreign banks lagged behind that of domestic banks in Asia, Latin America and ‘emerging Europe', IMF working paper finds
Mobile money accounts trump number of adults in Kenya, IMF data show
African bank depositors increased five-fold between 2004 and 2013, IMF's fifth annual Financial Access Survey shows; includes data on mobile money for first time
IMF paper: Colombia needs to lower collateral constraints to boost growth
Measures to increase financial inclusion in Colombia should be ‘monitored closely’, since some of them ‘may imply trade-offs’; collateral constraints viewed as impediment to growth
FSB estimates of Chinese shadow banking fall short of target, IMF representatives suggest
FSB's ‘filtering out' of parts of the non-bank financial system in China paints incomplete picture, IMF Asia division chief and HK representative say
Perceptions of monetary policy determine long-term bond yields, IMF paper finds
Rise in yields following Federal Reserve ‘taper talk' in 2013 is due to monetary policy shock; communications should place less focus on explaining adjustment triggers
Robert Pringle’s Viewpoint: A qualified case for Scottish independence
If the Scots vote for independence they will run many risks including a perilous path to create a Scottish currency; but they have the human resources to make a go of it
IMF paper says long-term debt creates ‘incentive to default’
Research examines relationship between maturity structure of sovereign debt portfolios and the probability of default; considers impact of uncertainty around future fundamentals
Debt accumulation in advanced countries historically absorbed by increases in short-term foreign debt
IMF paper examines how composition of public debt answered to consolidation periods between 1900-2011; common pattern was broken during 1980s and 1990s
IMF deems Czech exchange rate floor appropriate ‘for now’
Latest staff report commends CNB’s decision to intervene in foreign exchange market; supports the floor but says it should be removed ‘as soon as conditions allow’
IMF calls on Nordics to keep housing markets in check
Article IV reports warn Norges Bank will eventually have to normalise policy rate above inflation target and call for Swedish macro-pru measures targeted at households
HKMA executive director joins IMF's monetary and capital markets department
Dong He, HKMA head of research, new second-in-command at IMF division in charge of monitoring central banks and preparing Fund's Global financial stability report
Dealing with ‘insidious' crises a ‘difficult proposition' for policy-makers, argues IMF paper
Conventional balance-sheet crises, however, are more effectively detected and contained than before the financial crisis, paper adds
IMF researchers say CCBs ‘show less promise’ than other macro-prudential tools
Working paper finds counter-cyclical capital buffers are less effective than measures aimed at banks’ assets and liabilities in reducing the rate of asset growth on their balance sheets
IMF hosts Middle East forum on Basel III compliance
Middle Eastern countries work together to ensure adequacy of local lenders' capital and liquidity; new report credits region's ‘strict capital quality rules'
Unconventional monetary policy has heightened medium-term risks to banks, IMF paper finds
No evidence that unconventional monetary policies has ‘helped' banks, according to paper; finds deterioration of medium-term bank credit risk in US, UK, and the eurozone
End of Bretton Woods has helped dollar reserves, says ECB paper
The collapse of the Bretton Woods System has resulted in significant upheaval of currency reserve trends, says an ECB working paper co-authored by Barry Eichengreen