Regulation
ECB rejects public credit rating agency role
European Central Bank says European Commission should abandon proposals for Eurosystem to issue credit ratings to public
Countercyclical buffer could be big help to output: BIS paper
Research by the Bank for International Settlements says Basel III’s countercyclical capital buffer could have “sizable” hand in preventing output falls
€100 billion of caja loans could go bad: Bank of Spain
Bank of Spain releases details of savings banks’ exposures to real estate sector, levels of provisions; says reforms have addressed slew of underlying problems
Geithner slams UK for light-touch regulation
US Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner says UK’s light-touch approach to regulation was a deeply costly strategy; says creating level playing field for banks will be crucial
Malaysia’s Zeti optimistic on sukuk growth
Bank Negara Malaysia governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz says Malaysia looks to build on success of Islamic finance products in 2011
Basel alone will not protect us: UK Treasury Committee’s Tyrie
UK Treasury Select Committee chair Andrew Tyrie says fundamental changes to the way banks are supervised a must; tripartite system left no one in charge
Interview: Andrew Tyrie
The chairman of the UK’s Treasury Select Committee talks to Claire Jones about the future of financial regulation, why he’s a sceptic on Basel and reining in a more powerful Bank of England
Applying liquidity rules to sharia banking
Brandon Davies looks to history for an idea on how regulators can develop liquidity rules that will work for Islamic and conventional finance
Issues in regulating Islamic finance
The regulation of Islamic finance suffers from several seemingly entrenched problems. Mushtak Parker highlights the barriers to better regulation, while noting some grounds for optimism
Regulating Islamic finance: a primer
Claire Jones outlines how and by whom Islamic finance is regulated
Boston Fed paper on measures of bank output
Boston Federal Reserve study finds bias in methodology statistical agencies’ measurement of bank output
UK Treasury fleshes out new regulatory set-up
UK Treasury details powers of the new macroprudential body; rebrands Consumer Protection and Markets Authority to reflect underlying purpose
Fed’s Tarullo outlines OTC derivatives reform agenda
Federal Reserve governor Daniel Tarullo stresses importance of central counterparties, close scrutiny of market participants
Lebanon’s Salameh defends scandal-hit bank
Bank of Lebanon governor Riad Salameh offers support to Lebanese Canadian Bank after accusations by US Treasury of ties to illicit activities and terrorist organisations
UBS investment chief claims Swiss capital ratios too high, won’t hold
Chief executive of UBS’s investment bank Carsten Kengeter suggests 19% capital requirement may be watered down; says rules will “always be broken”
SEC moves to cut ratings out of registration requirements
US Securities and Exchange Commission proposes rule striking investment-grade rating condition from short-form registration process for companies issuing securities; move mandated by Dodd-Frank
FSA, Bank call for closer dialogue with auditors
Financial Services Authority releases draft code targeted at enhancing communication with auditors
Egypt's banks gradually reopen
Central Bank of Egypt says 396 more branches will reopen on Thursday and resume normal working hours; stock exchange also to reopen
Britain gets banks to agree on £10 billion boost to SMEs
UK’s chancellor George Osborne strikes deal with Britain’s largest banks to lend £10 billion more in funds to SMEs; Bank of England to report on banks’ contribution in next Trends in Lending report