Central Banking Journal
Archive – Interview: Allan Meltzer
Robert Pringle talks to Allan Meltzer, Carnegie Mellon professor and chair of the US Congress’s International Financial Institution Advisory Commission (the “Meltzer Commission”); first published in February 2003
Book notes: The Limits of the Market, by Paul de Grauwe
De Grauwe has produced a concise analysis into how markets and governments react with one another; but his lack of familiarity with the history of economic thought is surprising
“What would Allan say?”
Central Banking Publications founder Robert Pringle finds pearls of wisdom in his email correspondence with the late Allan Meltzer
Where have all the women gone?
The number of women working at central banks has increased substantially, but a glass ceiling appears to remain for those reaching for senior management positions
Book notes: The Spider Network, by David Enrich
A thrilling exploration of how currency trader Tom Hayes and confederates managed to corrupt the UK banking system in what has become one of the largest financial scandals in history
The changing composition of central bank balance sheets
Quantitative easing may have been necessary, but it has created worrying distortions and has probably discouraged structural change, while deflecting attention away from ever-greater levels of debt leverage
Brexit drives a wedge between BoE and markets
Market expectations of future UK interest rates appear out of line with views expressed by the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee. It comes at a time when Brexit ‘news’ often trumps economic data
How to divest public sector assets
Exit programmes for public sector assets could create uncertainty through supply/demand imbalance, but a tap facility – a private sector triggered exit programme – could be the solution, writes Hon Cheung, chief investment strategist, official…
Piecing together a financial theory of stagnation
Ideas presented at recent BIS annual meetings reveal an emerging framework that explains how the financial system may be dragging down the real economy; Hélène Rey was the latest to contribute
Addressing the eurozone’s ‘lemons’ problem for NPLs
State-supported securitisation of the riskiest tranches of eurozone bank NPLs could tackle information asymmetries between buyers and sellers, and restore market function
The BoJ’s exit policy and balance sheet risks
The Bank of Japan will need to follow a meticulous sequencing of events as its ‘normalises’ monetary policy, making current concerns about negative equity appear premature
Book notes: The Tides of Capital, by Julia Leung
This “stimulating read” offers a unique perspective on how Asian countries have developed economically over the past 20 years. More interesting is Leung’s unintentional revelation that they still have a long way to go
St Louis’s Bullard on the future of the Fed and its monetary policy record
St Louis Fed president James Bullard rails against east coast dominance, favours aspects of the Choice Act and says Fed monetary policy was a “factor” that fuelled crisis
FDIC’s Hoenig on restoring the structural integrity of banks
Commercial banks and payment operations should be ring-fenced within bank holding companies as insured entities with 10% equity. Then, market forces – rather than burdensome regulation – could determine capital for other activities
Indonesian deputy Perry on revolutionising monetary and financial policy
Perry Warjiyo explains the central bank’s radical overhaul of monetary policy operations, market deepening and financial inclusion in Indonesia
Making the rules and breaking the mould (Allan Meltzer: 1928–2017)
John Taylor writes about the extraordinary life of a pioneering economist whose lifelong work defied traditional rules – but one who strongly advocated them for central banks
Book notes: Fed Up, by Danielle diMartino Booth
A “fascinating but annoying” account by a US Federal Reserve insider who openly criticises the culture of the US central bank and policy decisions made by the institution leading up to and following the financial crisis
Book notes: Crash Bang Wallop, by Iain Martin
A comprehensive study of the City of London and how it became the world’s leading financial centre prior to the financial crisis and the UK’s vote to leave the European Union
Tackling the ‘human agency’ problem
Central banks are readying their communication strategies to mitigate a populist backlash against their post-crisis policies
Former Fed vice-chair Kohn on populism, top central bankers
Donald Kohn speaks to Christopher Jeffery about his fears for the Fed amid mounting populism, why he has few policy regrets and his experiences working with some of the world’s top central bankers
Croatia’s Vujčić on tackling NPLs and home-host supervision
Croatian National Bank governor Boris Vujčić explains why dealing firmly with NPLs via a ‘provisioning clock’ does not choke growth while detailing the benefits of ‘home-host’ dialogues, such as the Vienna Initiative
Ukraine’s Gontareva on one of the toughest jobs in central banking
The outgoing National Bank of Ukraine governor speaks about transforming the central bank while engaging in wartime deficit funding and overhauling the banking sector
The BoJ’s risky yield curve control experiment
The Bank of Japan’s experiment with yield curve control could work if appropriate targets and communication strategies were applied. But its current policy objectives are muddled
All aboard the blockchain
The underpinning architecture of bitcoin and other crypto-currencies – distributed ledger technology – has the potential to revolutionise digital payments, with some central banks working out how to harness ‘the blockchain’