Europe
The new era of money supply and its impact on policy
The empirical relationship between money and inflation has changed, writes Manmohan Singh, with Apoorv Bhargava and Peter Stella. To understand current policy challenges, we must first understand money creation
ECB rate-setters ‘broadly agree’ with loose policy
Governing council members warned financing conditions were still tighter than in December 2020
ECB officials suggest dropping market neutrality
Isabel Schnabel and Frank Elderson say climate change requires new approach to bond purchases
Danish central bank urges use of payments data in forecasts
Data provides good forecasts during normal times, but deteriorates in stressed conditions
Swedish investors favour EU-wide securities market harmonisation
But public consultation receives some resistance to using Target2-Securities for Swedish securities settlement
Asset managers should face minimum cash levels – ECB paper
Researchers say macro-prudential measure would improve market allocation of financial resources
People: ECB appoints head of climate change centre
Bank of Italy names new head of financial supervision; Kansas City Fed appoints assistant vice-president
Kazakhstan’s central bank announces CBDC pilot
Central bank says it will issue token-based prototype to lenders
Implementing Basel III accords must not be delayed – ECB’s Enria
Financial sector is calling for further postponement but this will bring no benefits, supervisor warns
Greening the central banks
What are members of the NGFS doing to ‘green’ their own operations? Officials from the central banks of Belgium, Canada and Morocco highlight some of their initiatives
Insolvencies could jeopardise EU recovery – ESRB report
ESRB calls on governments and banks to plan a smooth phasing-out of support measures
ECB paper measures economic uncertainty in eurozone
Researchers present method to monitor changes in uncertainty in eurozone and its trading partners
Foreign banks can reduce harm of ‘doom loop’ – ECB paper
Cross-border banks in eurozone countries soften effects of sovereign stress on credit
Central banks halt longer-term dollar liquidity auctions
Major central banks will no longer offer dollar liquidity at the 84-day maturity
DNB survey finds 49% of respondents ready to use digital euro
Over half of sample had not heard of central bank-issued digital currency, survey finds
Eurozone’s public debt rose sharply in 2020 – official figures
Public debt in the bloc jumped to 98% of GDP in wake of Covid-19, Eurostat says
ECB makes no change as Lagarde warns of uncertainty
Lagarde says price pressures remain weak and cautions over possible Covid-19 variants
Governors Nabiullina, Tabaković and Bezhoska on systemic risk and women in power
Russia, Serbia and North Macedonia governors discuss bank reforms, corruption and the Covid-19 crisis
ECB watchers say divisions on council could hamper decision-making
Analysts say central bank’s strategy of lower purchases could be tested later in 2021
Zhang Tao on the IMF’s fintech agenda, CBDCs and big tech oversight
IMF deputy managing director speaks about the fund’s perspectives on CBDC operating frameworks, regulating big tech and macrofinancial oversight in a digital world
Is the ECB implementing yield curve control?
The eurozone has adopted a hybrid system – lying somewhere between the Fed’s QE and the BoJ’s yield curve control – that targets wider financing conditions
Covid-19 support may have created “zombie firms” – BIS economists
Policy-makers should impose tighter lending standards and reform bankruptcy law, analysts argue
ECB’s digital euro consultation says public worried over privacy
Nearly half of responses to ECB come from Germany
Emerging-market central banks lead on women’s empowerment
EME central banks have more women at staff level and in senior positions, but there are deep disparities worldwide, with childcare availability appearing to be a major cause