United Kingdom
UK consumers drop cash in move towards mobile payments
British Retail Consortium says cash usage fell sharply last year, while research by VocaLink finds a strong uptake of mobile payments by consumers, though retail payments are still dominated by cash
IMF says forward guidance could reinvigorate UK monetary policy
IMF statement on UK economy suggests Bank of England provide assurances that rates will stay low until economic recovery 'reaches full momentum', to combat diminishing impact of monetary policy
UK inflation fall takes markets by surprise
Analysts say bigger-than-expected drop in price rises gives Bank of England more room for manoeuvre on monetary policy, but no change is still expected at the next MPC meeting
BoE opens up its macro models in push for transparency
Bank of England publishes details of its main macroeconomic models as part of drive for transparency prompted by Stockton Review; models to be adapted and developed to eradicate errors
Booknotes: The Leaderless Economy: Why the World Economic System Fell Apart and How to Fix It
The title of Peter Temin and David Vines’ book, especially its subtitle, promises the reader a lot
UK’s FCA faces serious challenges in meeting competition objective, survey warns
Industry survey highlights ‘scale of challenge’ for conduct regulator in promoting competition; says many measures taken so far may actually be anti-competitive
Bank of England ups incentives for increased SME lending
BoE in conjunction with Treasury introduces new incentives in a bid to get credit to struggling small business sector
Independent Scotland would face ‘significant risks’ under sterling union, says Westminster
UK government report points to drawbacks of all the currency options for an independent Scotland; refuses to back Scotland’s preference for a sterling union
BoE lending figures add credence to FLS scepticism
Business lending continues to contract in the UK, but pressure still mounts on the ECB to take steps to address eurozone recession
Thatcher's stance on the ECB deserves re-appraisal
Former UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher feared an independent ECB ‘accountable to no one, least of all national parliaments'. Her concerns seem even more relevant today
Norwegian paper finds implicit intra-day interest rate in UK money market
Research says that – in the absence of contractually binding repayment time – there is an implicit cost of delaying payments in the UK’s overnight money market
Bank of England handed new remit
UK budget embeds flexibility in MPC remit; suggests the committee adopts explicit forward guidance as a new policy tool; looks to expand funding for lending scheme
BoE research warns of coming financing problems for private equity firms
Quarterly bulletin article highlights problems on the horizon for private equity firms that over-leveraged before the financial crisis, as their debt comes to maturity under much tighter conditions
BoE Funding for Lending Scheme sees loans contract in first 6 months
Data out today show lending down following the introduction of FLS; BoE points to the counterfactual and says transmission 'takes time'
Osborne quizzed over banking commission recommendations
UK chancellor questioned by parliamentary commission for omitting recommendations on capital rules and full retail banking separation in new banking legislation
UK statistics office explains QE impact on national debt
ONS attempts to clarify accounting practices used in transferring cash reserves from Bank of England’s quantitative easing programme to the Treasury
BoE minutes signal ‘shift in remit' to support economic growth
Minutes reveal governor Mervyn King sided with expanding QE, leading analysts to speculate that inflation is no longer a target
BoE’s Weale warns of burgeoning inflation risk due to weak pound
Monetary Policy Committee member says further depreciation of the pound could push inflation further from its target, but the Bank of England might just have to weather the storm
Concern in the City over Vickers implementation
Participants at event in the City of London raise varied and numerous concerns about implementing the Vickers proposals in practice
South Africa moves toward UK-style ‘twin peaks’ regulators
Sarb issues consultative document on introduction of prudential and conduct regulators similar to plans in the UK; IMF study encounters problems in testing efficacy of macro-prudential policy
UK to ‘electrify' bank ring-fence in bid to end ‘too big to fail'
UK chancellor launches legislation to enforce ring-fencing – and separate banks that fail to comply
Bank of England unwavering in support for inflation target
MPC members hold interest rate and asset purchases to keep inflation on course to reach 2% in medium term; King condemns replacing price stability with economic growth target
Calomiris unveils ‘Sword of Damocles’ CoCo to hold over CEOs
Columbia academic and ESRB committee member Charles Calomiris believes CoCos designed to force top bank executives to issue equity well before they are triggered would reduce systemic risk
Vickers lends support to ring-fence ‘electrification’
John Vickers backs powers to enable the UK’s financial regulator to forcibly split banks’ activities if they violate ring-fence