Europe
Statisticians grapple with inflation impact of Covid-19
Collecting reliable inflation figures during lockdown is not straightforward
BoE and ECB weigh calls to follow US lead on capital relief
European regulators face pressure to exempt sovereign exposures from the leverage ratio
Book notes: Crisis spaces, by Costis Hadjimichalis
“Don’t buy this book, unless you are a dedicated Marxist”
The Belt and Road Initiative 2020 Survey – A more sustainable road to growth?
The third annual Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) survey reveals that central banks view BRI investment as sustainable compared with other forms of external debt, particularly given it is often proportionally less significant. Despite growing global trade…
Policy-makers making risky ‘one-round bet’ on Covid-19 – El-Erian
Former Pimco chief worried about readiness and ability of policy-makers to tackle a ‘second wave’ of infections
ECB sets up €2 billion swap line with Croatian National Bank
The line will remain in place until the end of 2020, but can be extended as long as it is needed
El-Erian on Covid-19 policy risks, ‘zombie’ markets and central bank capture
Former Pimco chief says Fed move into high yield is a step too far, new rules needed on leverage and false liquidity, and narrow window emerges for central banks to shed some of their policy load
Transfer season
Trade frictions with the US have caused a mass industrial transfer to China’s neighbours. Zhou Chengjun, IFF Academic Committee member and inspector of the Macro‑prudential Policy Bureau of the People’s Bank of China, says that shouldn’t stop China…
Beware of capital: much ado about nothing?
Capital increases can be offset by asset valuation, provision and income recognition forbearance
ECB minutes reveal resistance to lifting self-imposed limits on PEPP
Some governing council members did not deem new programme necessary, proposing to use APP or OMT
ECB takes unprecedented steps to preserve credit provision
Central bank accepts state-guaranteed loans as collateral, reduces haircuts, and raises limit on unsecured bank bonds in collateral pool
Banque de France predicts 6% economic contraction
Confinement laws have had a significant impact on activity
People: Sarb and BoE renew senior appointments
Senior Sarb and BoE officials receive new terms; MAS picks new assistant managing director; ECB appoints director; William Dudley takes consulting job
ECB buys Italian bonds well above capital key in March
Central bank bought €11.8 billion in Italian sovereign bonds last month, up from €2.2 billion in February
Is the ESM the eurozone’s best weapon against Covid-19?
Eurobonds face economic and political hurdles, say former officials
Riksbank picks ECB’s Tips for instant krona settlement system
Central bank preparing system for round-the-clock settlement in Swedish krona
ECB extends strategy review until mid-2021
Central bank postpones public events by six months due to the Covid-19 crisis
Bank of Portugal removes limits on credit card use
Central bank issues new regulation to encourage the use of electronic payments
Amplifying the soundwaves: the evolution of social media communications
Central banks’ social media usage is on the rise, but their choice of platform is shifting more and more towards the visual
Debelle: regulation could be ‘helpful’ to FX code
As EU weighs regulation of spot market, GFXC chair dismisses key industry argument
Banque de France seeks partner for wholesale CBDC project
Project will explore CBDC use cases in interbank payment space
ECB makes record sovereign bond purchases
Central bank ramped up purchases under the PSPP programme in the week to March 27
‘Ostrich approach’ to financial stability is a mistake
Denmark’s top supervisor, Jesper Berg, says scaling back IFRS 9 would be a costly error, despite the economic challenges raised by Covid-19
ECB asks eurozone banks to stop dividends
Bank of Israel also asks banks to reassess the distribution of dividends