Central Banking Journal
Central bank governor of the year: Carlos Fernández Valdovinos
The governor of the Central Bank of Paraguay has had considerable success hitting Paraguay’s tightening inflation target while boosting the nation’s economic credentials
Economics in central banking: Leo Krippner
His work on term structure modelling has helped central bank policy-makers to track the effects of unconventional policies and it raises many interesting possibilities for future research
Technology provider of the year (risk management): Calypso Technology
Calypso scored several prestigious client wins in Denmark, France, South Africa and Spain by tailoring its platform to the needs of central banks
Technology provider of the year (supervision): Vizor Software
Vizor Software has transitioned from a niche consultancy to a technology provider of choice for central banks in 30 countries, including Canada, the UK and Saudi Arabia
Payments and market infrastructure provider of the year: VocaLink
The UK payments provider has built on domestic success to support real-time payments in Thailand and the US
Book notes: The International Monetary Fund: Distinguishing Reality from Rhetoric, by Graham Bird and Dane Rowlands
The book brings valuable rigour to bear in assessing the work of the IMF, but suffers from a reliance on ageing data in many places, says Jacek Klich
Book notes: The Man Who Knew: The Life & Times of Alan Greenspan, by Sebastian Mallaby
An extensive account of Greenspan's life and achievements, but would have benefited from a closer analysis of his relationships with comrades at the Fed
Lars Rohde on negative rates, pegs, productivity and resolution
The National Bank of Denmark governor speaks to Christopher Jeffery about the productivity paradox, defending currency pegs, unexpected limits for negative rates and addressing too-big-to-fail
Book notes: Shadow banking in China, by Andrew Sheng and Ng Chow Soon
The authors dispel many myths about shadow banking in China – but may underestimate future risks, writes Michael Taylor
Book notes: On central banking, by Jan Qvigstad
Qvigstad’s collection of lectures captures not just the culture of Norwegian central banking, but also an intellectual history of which the country can be proud
Ignazio Visco on Italian banks and why the ECB should not be made a ‘scapegoat’ for EMU fatigue
The Bank of Italy governor speaks to Chris Jeffery about resolving Italy’s NPLs, Europe’s bail-in framework, the importance of QE and why the ECB needs to stop being made a ‘scapegoat’ for EMU fatigue
Harnessing growing data volumes: The St Louis Fed
Huge demand for macroeconomic data that is easily accessible, international and granular is driving the rise of this global data hub. Daniel Hinge meets the Fred team
Is the Central Bank of Argentina back?
The Central Bank of Argentina’s new governor, Federico Sturzenegger, has made strong progress in tackling runaway inflation and reversing the country’s monetary decline. But many challenges remain
Data as a critical factor for central banks
Central banks must industrialise data-handling processes to deliver better decision-making, says Maciej Piechocki of BearingPoint
Last stand for central bank independence?
Political attacks on Janet Yellen and Mark Carney appear to be just the start of a sustained assault on central bank independence. It’s a battle the central bankers may lose
Big data in central banking: 2016 survey
Results and analysis of a survey examining how central banks view big data and data governance in their institutions
AnaCredit: banking with (pretty) big data
The supranational credit database in Europe will help policy-makers and banks assess cross-border risk when it goes live in 2018, writes Aurel Schubert, director-general of the European Central Bank’s statistics department
Book notes: The curse of cash, by Kenneth S Rogoff
A well-written book and sincerely argued, but it is based on weak economic analysis and inadequate economic and political history
Evaluating big data capabilities in central banking
Central Banking convened a panel of experts to discuss how big data can add value to central banking in the near term, the need for good governance, and balancing the pros against the cons
Book notes: Achieving financial stability and growth in Africa, edited by Stephany Griffith-Jones and Ricardo Gottschalk
John Chown praises this comprehensive review that studies the possibility of achieving ‘the impossible’ in low-income Africa – both growth and financial stability
Otmar Issing on why the euro ‘house of cards’ is set to collapse
Euro architect tells Chris Jeffery that muddling from one crisis to another cannot go on endlessly. Politicians need to admit “there is no likelihood” of political union to give EMU rules a chance
IFRS 9 deadline looms
The successful implementation of new accounting rules for financial instruments requires urgent attention and leadership from frontline departments. It should not be left solely to the accountants
Book notes: Connectedness and contagion, by Hal Scott
Scott’s argument on the dangers of contagion has many appealing features, although he may be too eager to hand powers to unelected officials, writes Michael Reddell
Book notes: And the weak suffer what they must?, by Yanis Varoufakis
A book that is likely to elicit strong opinions – but Varoufakis writes persuasively, and may well win over many of his readers, says David Mayes