United Kingdom
UK payments regulator approves of code of conduct
Big UK banks have published a voluntary code of conduct for those providing indirect access to payment systems, in a bid to improve standards
UK payments have room for improvement, report finds
Report identifies priorities for better payments among consumers, businesses and government, finding desire for faster, more flexible payments with less room for error
Carney asked to review MPC code
Andrew Tyrie asks BoE governor to review MPC code of conduct and ensure it prevents committee members from having, or appearing to have, a conflict of interest
BoE economists mine tweets for early-warning indicator
Central bank put its work on ‘text mining’ and big data to work during Scottish independence referendum in an attempt to create an early-warning indicator for bank runs
UK regulators spare Co-op Bank £120m fine
Bank of England and FCA ‘censure’ the troubled bank for multiple failures including not being open with regulators, but drop a £120 million fine on financial stability grounds
Change to broken benchmarks years away, say industry commentators
After the FCA produced a review criticising banks for not learning the lessons of Libor and forex, observers predict no major benchmark reform until efforts co-ordinated with industry
BoE’s McCafferty breaks ranks in first new-style monetary policy meeting
BoE holds first monetary policy meeting under new setup and launches new format for policy communications, including inflation report redesign
UK payments regulator evaluates efforts to improve access
Banks and payment systems now expected to be more transparent about criteria for access; regulator says this is now bearing fruit, but the real tests are yet to come
Libor rigger Hayes jailed for 14 years
Tom Hayes found guilty of manipulating Libor while at UBS and Citi
BoE unveils plans for enhanced data gathering
Central bank hopes improved data gathering will allow it to produce more accurate interest rate benchmarks, and inform financial and monetary policy work
BoE’s Gracie describes unique dangers of cyber attack
Unprepared firms could find themselves up against attacks by fraudsters or unscrupulous states, and the damage could be difficult to detect
Bundesbank research tracks changing financial cycle
Discussion paper seeks to establish the ‘empirical regularities’ of the financial cycle using an econometric model, finding the cycle has grown longer and more severe over time
IMF laments lack of progress on global imbalances
Fund calls on both surplus and deficit economies to redress imbalances, arguing this would support global demand management and growth
BoE’s Cunliffe warns of risks to loosening ‘regulatory straitjacket’
Regulators may need to ‘fine-tune’ the complex web of rules established since the crisis, but they should not be fooled into thinking the key to growth lies in light-touch regulation
Global FX volumes climb off record highs
Foreign exchange turnover slips from the record highs registered in October 2014, but is still growing year-on-year
Gertjan Vlieghe to replace Miles on BoE monetary policy committee
Economist used to be assistant to Mervyn King and is now partner at an asset manager; previous research has focused on conducting monetary policy in the presence of imperfect credit markets
BoE’s Gracie praises TLAC and MREL standards
Executive director says loss-absorbing capacity provided by the two standards will help regulators co-operate across borders and ensure core functions can continue to operate
UK’s Chaps and Crest to close later from ‘summer 2016’
Bank of England says the settlement day for the UK’s high-value payment system and securities settlement system will be extended by an hour and forty minutes from summer 2016
BoE MPC moving towards rate hike, minutes hint
MPC voted unanimously for a rate hold, but ‘a number of members’ believe risks to inflation are becoming ‘skewed to the upside’; appreciation of sterling and global shocks could still delay hike
Martin Wheatley resigns as FCA chief executive
FCA chief quits after it emerges the UK chancellor will not be renewing his term next year; worldwide search begins for successor
People: Trinidad gets new deputy, Bulgaria nominates three
Academic Sandra Sookram joins the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago; Dimitar Radev nominates three deputy governors on his first day leading the Bulgarian National Bank; and more
BoE’s Miles cautions against use of policy rate for financial stability ends
Use of monetary policy to tackle financial stability goals is less efficient than setting higher capital requirements, outgoing MPC member says
Reform of Sterling Monetary Framework is ‘ongoing’, says BoE’s Salmon
Executive director for markets highlights potential for sharia-compliant facilities to be included in framework, among host of possible future developments
Ex-BoE deputy to review UK statistics in effort to improve productivity measure
Charles Bean will lead an independent review on the ‘quality, delivery and governance’ of economic statistics produced in the UK, as government grapples with productivity puzzle