United Kingdom
BoE report details ‘innovative’ liquidity insurance tool
Indexed long-term repos were introduced as part of liquidity facility upgrades after the global financial crisis, and are designed to automatically adjust to stress
BoE staff costs rose 6% in 2015, annual report shows
Growing number of senior staff added to central bank’s wage bill for the year; Mark Carney turned down pay rises but still received package worth nearly $1.4 million
Market participants cheer FEMR recommendations
Dealers, customers and platforms all welcomed the outcome of the long-awaited review
BoE minutes help markets shape expectations, paper finds
Working paper published by ECB finds markets make use of minutes when forming short-term expectations, but relationship breaks down over longer horizons
BoE’s McCafferty says UK not yet in ‘true deflation’
External MPC member says ‘dangerous but rare’ deflation has not taken hold in the UK, although inflation expectations have shifted down slightly
BoE launches push to create global forex code that ‘has teeth’
Fair and Effective Markets Review recommends effort to establish global code of conduct as part of implementing UK regulation of fixed income, currency and commodity markets
BoE appoints Andrew Hauser to new executive director role
Head of Fair and Effective Markets Review appointed to new executive director role with responsibility over balance sheet risks, payments and banking operations
Kohn targets more ‘systematic’ macro-prudential policy
Member of the Bank of England’s FPC says the committee should keep developing a more systematic approach to identifying risks and choosing tools to address them
Stanley Fischer praises BoE financial stability set-up as ‘leading model’
Fed vice-chair explores different arrangements for financial stability and concludes separate committee within central bank is a good model; does not rule out leaning against wind
Austria to repatriate third of gold reserves
Central bank plans to move gold out of the UK and into Austria and Switzerland after court of audit raises concern over ‘high concentration risk’
BoE asks public to nominate artist for next £20 note
Mark Carney says next individual on £20 note will be a visual artist, and asks members of the public to nominate people from the field; committee will then draw up a shortlist
People: Sri Lanka and Paraguay name new board members
RA Jayatissa and Carlos Carballo Spalding join central bank boards in Sri Lanka and Paraguay respectively; UK firm VocaLink names new CRO
BoE stress tests to gauge deflation impact
Stress-test scenario revamped for 2015 to take account of the effects of falling prices on the banking system, while adding a leverage ratio threshold and greater focus on global risks
UK’s Tyrie says ‘wider problems’ need fixing at FCA
Damning report by UK’s Treasury Committee says financial watchdog must do more to correct failures brought to light during a communications debacle in March 2014
Carney: BoE ‘nowhere near’ exhausting macropru tools
Governor says Bank of England has ‘some way to run’ in terms of both the number of tools and options for calibration; debates debt levels on panel at Bundesbank conference
UK payments regulator set for launch
PSR outlines its approach ready for start of regulation on April 1, including plans to work more closely with the industry, increase transparency and boost competition
Investigation unearths flaws in BoE’s RTGS system
Combination of elderly and complex RTGS system, inadequate testing and poor contingency planning led to nine-hour outage last October; BoE adopting review’s recommendations in full
UK inflation hits zero
For the first time ever, consumer prices were unchanged in the year to February, although the 0% figure masks substantial variation among sectors; BoE hints at easing possibility
BoE’s Brazier sees room for improvement in stress testing
New executive director outlines enhancements including counter-cyclical testing and extending the regime to the non-bank sector
BoE agents shift perspective towards shadow banking
Role of central bank agents shifts towards financial stability and brings particular benefits in tracking the rise of non-bank finance, shows BoE quarterly bulletin
Carney: some shocks might warrant lower inflation target
BoE governor says persistent supply shock could justify a change in the inflation target, but stresses this is a ‘pure hypothetical’; optimistic over long-term picture for productivity
UK fraud office probing Bank of England liquidity auctions
Bank of England liquidity auctions during the financial crisis of 2007 and 2008 are under investigation; Grabiner compiled an initial report before matter handed to SFO
Carney targets 'strategic’ approach to market intelligence
BoE governor Mark Carney sheds light on some of the recent changes to the way the central bank gathers market intelligence in Treasury Select Committee hearing
Climate change on BoE research agenda
Bank of England says research could examine how central banking can ‘play a role’ in addressing systemic environmental risks; conference panellists consider issue