United Kingdom
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
Robert Pringle’s Viewpoint: Cameron’s high-risk European gamble
British Prime Minister David Cameron's high-stakes bid to renegotiate the UK’s role within the EU has rankled some officials in Europe. But both sides would lose from a UK withdrawal
UK monetary easing could be pointless, says HSBC
Top HSBC economist says lack of spare capacity in UK economy could make easing risky, with little upside; former MPC member Blanchflower takes 'almost exactly the opposite view'
BoE unveils action plan for macroprudential powers
UK Government proposals will enable the Bank of England’s financial policy committee to impose ‘sectoral capital requirements’ to tackle systemic threats early
UK statistics office to keep 'unsuitable' inflation measure
The UK Office for National Statistics will not change how it calculates RPI inflation – but will initiate an alternative index in parallel
BoE survey shows businesses credit increased ‘significantly’ in fourth quarter
Bank of England survey finds credit extended to households and the corporate sector increased in the last quarter of 2012
Robert Pringle’s Viewpoint: Can banking recover its lost reputation?
The UK’s Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards issued a thoughtful paper in December offering clarity on some of the flaws present in current banking reform
BBA delays phase-out of some Libor rates after complaints
Less-used rates will be produced until May 2013
BoE’s Weale urges use of more nuanced economic models
Basing models on a single representative agent risks obscuring important results, says Bank of England’s Martin Weale; alternative is greater emphasis on behavioural economics