Germany
Bundesbank paper investigates how relationships impact interbank lending
Bundesbank study reveals importance of good relationships to the liquidity of interbank markets; private information determines banks' willingness to lend and the price of their loans
Bundesbank starts foreign reserve operations in Tokyo
German central bank upgrades Tokyo representative office on 25th anniversary to full trading office; starts trading in Asian timezone to lower costs and gain information edge
Dombret urges international collaboration on regulatory reform
Deutsche Bundesbank’s Andreas Dombret wants greater international co-ordination on regulatory reform; says countries should honour their commitments
IMF issues updates on German and US economies
International Monetary Fund notes Germany’s “remarkable” economic performance; warns US over “tepid” recovery
Bundesbank raises 2012 growth prediction
German central bank records marginally more positive growth expectation for the economy this year; still harbours significant concerns on key issues such as unemployment
Bundesbank adamant on Greek reform programme
Monthly statement from Bundesbank says Greek access to aid should not be eased to avoid dampening of incentive to reform; EC’s Barroso sensitive to sacrifices made so far after meeting interim president
Germany’s political elite treads tightrope of public opinion on euro
Citizens of Europe’s most powerful economy have never had a real affection for the euro, making Germany’s role in resolving the continent’s debt crisis extremely tricky. By Norbert Walter
Berlin and the Bundesbank in spat over IMF
The Bundesbank has played a pivotal role in building Germany’s reputation as defender of monetary discipline at the IMF. But Berlin’s efforts to bail out Greece have damaged this reputation
Bundesbank reveals location of gold holdings
German central bank says gold is held in four countries; kept in the vaults of the trading centres where transfers happened
Dombret calls for faster EU action on regulation of Sifis
Deutsche Bundesbank's Andreas Dombret calls for EU to act faster on regulation of Sifis; says individual countries implementing their own frameworks creates ‘problems for the future'
Dombret says role of central banks 'changed fundamentally' by crisis
Deutsche Bundesbank board member discusses changing role of central banks as a result of the financial crisis; says the situation could lead to a new financial instability
Praet places onus on governments to resolve sovereign debt crisis
ECB executive director and de facto chief economist says it is up to governments to resolve the sovereign debt crisis in the eurozone; says some progress is being made
Central Bank of Iceland conducts dawn raid on fishing company
Icelandic officials carry out searches of fishing company Samherji’s offices; company calls for explanation
Bundesbank president cautions against central bank shift into politics
Deutsche Bundesbank president Jens Weidmann confirms central bank’s policy advocating tighter eurozone rules while acknowledging long-term growth is needed to help peripheral countries out of debt
ECB allows eurozone central banks to veto collateral
ECB says central banks in member countries can refuse bank bonds guaranteed by governments of countries involved in EU/IMF bailout programmes as collateral
Weidmann airs unresolved questions of financial crisis
Bundesbank president details areas where research is needed to better understand the causes of the financial crisis; wants to better understand risks of securitisation practices
Weidman explains plummeting Bundesbank profit
President of the Deutsche Bundesbank explains why profit dropped drastically in 2011; increased risks led central bank to boost buffers
Buba discussion paper uncovers secrets of board risk-taking
Researchers find board changes that result in more female executives at banks can lead to increased risk-taking; executives with PhD qualifications reduce risk
Bank of Thailand governor discusses links with Germany
Prasarn Trairatvorakul highlights important trade link with Germany and commits to necessary reforms to improve Thailand’s competitiveness
Brendan Brown on life after death for the Emu
Brendan Brown puts forward a proposal for how a functioning monetary union in Europe could operate if the current system was to fail
Nazis “destroyed confidence” in BoE notes with expert counterfeits
MI5 report from 1945 says Nazis destroyed confidence in British banknotes; produced counterfeits of such high quality it was “impossible” for a lay person to tell them from the real thing
Heightened uncertainty promoted precautionary savings post-crisis, says IMF paper
Fund study says precautionary motives promoted households in advanced economies to significantly increase savings following the global financial crisis
ECB paper captures effect of eurozone sovereign risk on bond spreads
European Central Bank study says both country-specific and contagion risk contributed to widening of sovereign bond spreads against the German Bund during the financial crisis
Central bankers gather in Davos for World Economic Forum
Central banking is a hot topic at this year's World Economic Forum; attendees of the event discuss issues in Russia, Poland, China and more