United Kingdom
BoE suffers transaction-processing glitch
“Regular” IT update led to failed wholesale transactions, although payment systems operated normally, the central bank says
Central bank communications risk circularity, says BIS paper
Policy communications influence market prices and market prices influence policy, warn Stephen Morris and Hyun Song Shin
BoE denies involvement with controversial charity auction
Central bank says it was unaware tea with Mark Carney was being auctioned, after FT investigation raises allegations of sexual harassment
Liberalising services trade could tackle imbalances – BoE paper
Finding ways of reducing barriers to services trade could substantially cut imbalances
Payments and market infrastructure provider of the year: Perago
The software company is helping central banks around the world implement reliable and highly adaptable RTGS and retail payments systems
Central Banking Awards: BoE a leader in fintech
Awards go to the Bank of England, Vizor, Lanqart and Openlink for their innovative work
Initiative of the year: Bank of England’s FinTech Accelerator
The UK central bank has embraced fintech service providers in a controlled manner to bolster its cyber-security and payments capabilities
BoE commits to improving liquidity facilities
Report says central bank could do more to ensure smooth operations
BoE economists challenge conventional wisdom on yield curve
Steeper curve may not be as good for bank profitability as widely believed
BoE’s Tenreyro sees hopeful signs for UK productivity
Many factors dragging on productivity may soon start to fade, MPC member says, though the UK seems to be missing out on a global investment boom
BoE’s Woods warns of ‘point of tension’ in Brexit negotiations
PRA chief fears EU supervisors may adopt a local mindset when dealing with cross-border firms
HKMA launches consultation on open API framework
Open API enables personalised services for bank users but requires access to customer data
People: Peru’s Velarde bags BIS job; Belsham gets second term on BoE committee
People: Peruvian governor succeeds Poloz as Council for the America’s chair; David Belsham gets second term at Prudential Regulation Committee; and more
BoE paper outlines big-data-based early warning indicator
Text mining approach seeks to capture how narratives can drive action in financial markets
Balancing reserves’ effectiveness and transparency
Why do countries accumulate more and more reserves if they know intervention may prove ineffective? Iris Yeung speaks to Canada’s Eric Wolfe
People: Bank of England official to become FCA chair
Charles Randell to take over as FCA chair in April; BoE appoints its first job sharers at executive director level; Vietnam names deputy governor; Mark Mullinix to leave Fed; and more
BoE exploring ways to improve gender balance
Deputy governor wants HR department to investigate movement from manager to senior manager; senior group looks into how to support women preparing for heads of division roles
Book notes: Money in the Great Recession, by Tim Congdon
A stimulating collection of papers on the monetarist theory that had central bankers in late 2008 focused on boosting the quantity of broad money “the Great Recession would not have happened”
BoE sets out post-Brexit supervision plans
Central bank says UK will aim to stay open as banks, insurers and CCPs are brought under the PRA’s oversight; changes imply heavy workload for the supervisor
UK households pessimistic about fortunes in 2018
Survey published by BoE reveals UK households do not expect an improvement in their financial positions in the coming year
BoE expects UK inflation slowdown
Bank of England keeps rates on hold at 0.5%; disinflationary base effects likely to outweigh tightening labour market in near term
Early asset purchases much more successful – BIS paper
Authors find effectiveness falls over time as the shock wears off, questioning the value of long-running quantitative easing
UK inflation breaks out of target band
Inflation now above the BoE’s 3% upper limit, though breach may prove temporary
BoE paper lays out ‘financial conditions index’ for UK
Index proves valuable as a summary measure and also as an input to forecasting