United Kingdom
Contactless payment limit to rise in the UK
National roll-out of new limit will begin in April, but will take time, says industry body
UK lenders do little to account for extreme weather risks – BoE paper
Banks barely adjusted mortgages in the wake of severe flooding in 2013–14, authors find
Major economies already engaging in ‘currency wars’ – former IMF chief
De Larosière floats new commodity-based exchange rate regime; says “trust” is key to avoiding “beggar-thy-neighbour” policies
Fed expands lending facility to support municipal bond market
Political pressure mounting to support local governments; senator proposes bill to broaden QE powers
Dollar crunch eases as central banks step up swaps action
Core swap recipients will offer daily dollar auctions; cross-currency basis narrows
BoE axes 2020 stress test and gives supervisory guidance
IFRS 9 a challenge for firms given high uncertainty over virus impact
BoE ramps up corporate and government bond-buying
Central bank launches new £200 billion package of QE plus rate cut and more liquidity
Bailey says BoE ‘will do what it takes’
BoE governor echoes Draghi after sterling plunges despite creation of new lending facility
Book notes: Renewing our monetary vows, by Richard Barwell and Jagjit Chadha
Open letters to the governor of the Bank of England, as new chief Andrew Bailey takes over
The Tokyo Olympics: downside risks prevail
The Bank of Japan’s latest stimulus effort seems to be weak, and comes at a time when the benefits of hosting the Tokyo Olympics may be overstated – even if the games still take place
Central banks and banks: a changed relationship
The development of large, complex international capital markets has reshaped the relationship between central banks and their commercial counterparts
BoE sets out design principles for retail CBDC
Paper sheds new light on BoE’s thinking on design process and possible pitfalls
BoE launches package of Covid-19 response measures
UK central bank cuts policy rate and countercyclical capital buffer, and unveils measures to support lending
FCA consults on new climate risk disclosures
Firms will have to publish disclosures or explain why not; critics believe the new rules should be mandatory
Carney sets out ‘grand unifying theory’ of macro-pru
Loss function for financial stability echoes format of Taylor rule, but requires much more judgement; speech is Carney’s last as BoE governor
FedNow: the advantage of going last
While the Fed is late in developing instant payments, it can learn about fraud detection, interconnectivity and directory services strategies from Europe, the UK and Australia
Andrew Bailey approved as Bank of England governor
Treasury Committee “satisfied” after grilling the outgoing FCA chief
Monetary policy is not ‘impotent’ – BoE’s Broadbent
Scepticism is “overdone” and may encourage inaction, deputy governor says
UK regulators checking firms’ virus contingency plans
Firms can use alternative sites or let staff work from home so long as regulatory obligations are met
Andrew Bailey defends record in parliamentary grilling
Prospective BoE governor says he faced a “huge task” in “rebuilding” the FCA, though he admits he is “not proud” of some things that happened during his tenure
G7 leaders avoid committing to co-ordinated virus response
Central bankers and finance ministers “stand ready”; Carney says BoE has launched contingency measures
Cunliffe spells out key questions to answer before launching CBDC
If central banks are to issue digital currency, they must think hard about the design, BoE deputy says
BoE announces new centralised data platform
UK central bank teams up with Autorek for two-phase project
Finance firms must take further steps on climate change – Carney
BoE governor calls for broadening of climate effort, including push for better risk management