Europe
Albania governor calls for Balkan payments system in annual conference speech
The Bank of Albania's 10th annual international conference celebrated the 20th anniversary of the central bank and the 100th anniversary of its declaration of independence
ECB unveils new Euro Retail Payments Board
New board will be the driving force behind retail payments integration in Europe; will replace the Sepa council and take a more proactive approach than its predecessor
ECB launches public consultation on mobile payments security recommendations
The governing council of the ECB asks market participants to comment on draft recommendations intended to make mobile payments more secure; interested parties have until January 31 to weigh in
Belgian paper warns central bank policies could worsen financial shocks
Working paper studies optimal monetary policy configurations for price and financial stability in Eastern Europe; finds central banks may worsen credit shocks by taking action against them
Banks respond differently to capital target deviations, ECB paper shows
Working paper finds banks tend to reshuffle risk-weighted assets or increase holdings when above Tier I ratio, but more inclined to increase equity levels when below target
Netherlands Bank says ECB’s asset quality review necessary to restore market confidence
Dutch central bank says lack of market confidence is making it difficult for European banks to build stronger balance sheets, and that the ECB’s asset quality review will help address this
Robert Pringle’s Viewpoint: ECB needs to play ‘chicken’ to force reform of Europe’s banks
The ECB won a game of brinkmanship with governments to secure the establishment of the bail-out fund. It needs to use the same tactic with three clear elements to force through bank reform
Politically-aligned governors more likely to 'survive', research finds
Paper unearths evidence that central bank governors with the same political leanings as the government in power last significantly longer in their roles
Financial crisis caused significant shift in the euro area Beveridge curve
ECB paper finds that labour market consequences of the crisis have been heterogeneous across countries, with Spain and Germany diverging the most
European Commission launches shadow banking onslaught
Commission looks to impose more stringent liquidity and capital requirements on money market funds; industry body hits out at 'ill-considered' proposals
Financial contagion function of reputation rather than size of banks
Bank clustering and large in-coming interbank loan more important than leverage ratios, while central bank intervention reduce contagion only slightly, Bank of Finland discussion paper finds
Employment losses have repaired corporate balance sheets, paper argues
Differences in post-crisis employment among EU members are largely driven by need in many countries to adjust balance sheets, according to IMF working paper
UK-French paper examines monetary policy implications of wage changes
Researchers find that wage changes are clustered at the beginning of the year in many European countries, but this makes ‘little difference’ to the optimal policy response across quarters
Croatia among EU members whose spreads are most affected by fundamentals
While spillovers from external shocks remain the dominant factor in spreads EU-wide, Croatia is among those where fundamentals are playing an increasingly influential role
Bank of Albania governor says banking is country's 'greatest driver of growth'
Ardian Fullani added that European integration was the best way to withstand the current crisis and guarantee stable economic growth in the long term
CEE business cycles still out of sync with eurozone, Polish paper finds
Despite some convergence, differences remain - particularly when it comes to agents' intra- and inter-temporal choices, which account for a large proportion of output fluctuation in the CEE region
Polish economists call for dismantling of eurozone, and new role for ECB
Former Polish vice-minister of finance and bank chief economiss call for Germany to lead an exodus of the eurozone's strongest economies, to save the European Union
Lagarde advocates closer European integration
IMF managing director tells Romanian audience the ‘right future’ for Eastern Europe is greater integration with its EU neighbours; implores region not to turn its back on European project
Lithuanian governor lays out economic priorities for Council of EU
Vitas Vasiliauskas says European policy-makers have proven they are ‘ambitious architects’ but must now demonstrate they are ‘good constructors’
ECB paper considers how to conduct monetary policy without interest rates
Occasional paper studies development of Islamic finance in Europe, including the difficulties inherent in setting monetary policy given that sharia bans interest rates
IMF paper weighs effect of shifting bank funding in eastern Europe
Researchers from the International Monetary Fund find banks rebalancing their funding sources away from foreign loans; warns global regulation may make this process too rapid
ECB research dissects European competitiveness
Working paper separates competitiveness into political and factor price-driven elements; uses new index to show divergent outcomes across Europe
EC recognises member state fears that FTT will hurt clearing
Tax liability could send CCPs "directly into insolvency" warn Czech officials in leaked document
European rates: UK and Norway on hold as Denmark and Poland cut
Bank of England marks time ahead of Mark Carney’s arrival and Norges Bank keeps policy steady, while Denmark and Poland take action