Norges Bank
Book notes: On central banking, by Jan Qvigstad
Qvigstad’s collection of lectures captures not just the culture of Norwegian central banking, but also an intellectual history of which the country can be proud
Norges Bank deputy warns of vulnerabilities in financial system
“Sharp rise” in property prices and high household indebtedness are a concern, the latest financial stability report reveals; banking sector’s largest corporate exposure is to the real estate market
Olsen says Norges Bank must tread carefully as it nears the zero lower bound
Governor says effects of monetary policy may become less certain; review of monetary policy framework about to begin
Norges Bank paper studies forecast asymmetry at lower bound
Effective lower bound need not translate into asymmetries in other forecast variables, authors find; regime-switching DSGE model helps overcome Lucas critique
Norges Bank to publish minutes for first time
Central bank plans to release details of all aspects of executive board meetings except for monetary policy deliberations, citing growing interest and requests for disclosure
NBIM’s Q2 returns hit by Brexit turbulence
Second-quarter returns of 1.3% held back by European equities and UK in particular; real estate investments register second negative quarter
Norges Bank questions contingency plans for cash distribution
Report warns Norwegian banks’ back-up plans “may prove inadequate” in a crisis; both the central bank and financial supervisory authority in communication with the finance ministry
Balance sheet policy matters for credibility – Norges Bank paper
Researcher argues a central bank’s financial strength may affect its ability to meet its monetary policy mandate, based on evidence from the UK’s gold standard period
Norges Bank deputy: lack of common infrastructure hampers faster payments
Limited collaboration between banks in Norway is hampering availability of real-time payments and causing Norway to fall behind, Jon Nicolaisen says
Norges Bank paper offers insights on when to ‘lean against the wind’
Norges Bank working paper investigates the extent monetary policies should actively aim at mitigating the build-up of financial imbalances; using rates to curb credit growth could lower output
Pursuing stable rates may create instability, Norges Bank paper finds
Preference among central bankers to keep rates at “normal” levels may prove time-inconsistent, researchers warn
Olsen wins second term at Norges Bank
Øystein Olsen reappointed for second and final term as Norges Bank governor, seeing off competition from six other applicants, including a former governor of the Central Bank of Iceland
Norges Bank reveals methods used to monitor banknote quality
Central bank to conduct ‘fitness surveys’ twice annually, analysing a host of variables to define which banknotes are suitable for circulation
To play the counterfeiter
The Reproduction Research Centre in Copenhagen helps central banks to counterfeit colour-shifting technology and machine-readable codes on banknotes in a bid to reduce fraud
Norges Bank notes to feature innovative optical thread
Choice of security features swayed Norges Bank away from polymer; new series of notes to feature Crane security thread
RBNZ signs up SIA to deliver RTGS replacement
Its subsidiary, Perago, will deliver payments infrastructure for New Zealand via “off-the-shelf” system used by Riksbank and Norges Bank
Paper finds Norwegian housing market is ‘micro efficient’
Research published by Norges Bank exploits dataset comprising 472,378 housing transactions; finds little persistence but a lot of reversion in sale prices
Norges Bank deputy pits Keynes against Hayek
Jon Nicolaisen says European countries may have invoked the lessons of Keynes without paying heed to the warnings of Hayek – both views are needed to avoid problems
Norges Bank researchers grapple with nonlinear exchange rate pass-through
Exchange rate pass-through in Norway is unusually high, which the authors suggest could be due to the size of recent currency movements – but pinning down the effect empirically proves difficult
People: Bank of Estonia reappoints deputies; Lagarde wants to reappoint IMF first deputy
Bank of Estonia hands new terms to Ülo Kaasik and Madis Müller; David Lipton in line for reappointment at IMF; Graeme Wheeler to head up BIS Asian Consultative Council; and more
Norway’s Olsen plans to seek reappointment
Norges Bank governor says he plans to seek a second term, as government launches public application process for position
Norges Bank willing to consider move into negative territory
Central bank cuts rates to 0.5% and signals further action likely to follow; executive board concerned by side-effects of negative rates, but willing to use them if necessary
Bank capital matters for risk-taking channel of monetary policy, Norges Bank paper finds
Less capitalised Norwegian banks are more likely to extend credit to risky firms in response to a cut in the policy rate, author finds
Norges Bank organisational changes geared towards better investment
Revamp of organisational structure is mainly focused on improving the governance of the sovereign wealth fund, which delivered a return of 2.7% despite turbulence last year, annual report reveals