Central Banking
Albanian governor seeks regional integration
Ardian Fullani says the south-east of Europe is being held back by a lack of integration; proposes a number of areas where coordination could improve competitiveness
Banking industry needs to deliver wider services, says Pakistan deputy
Kazi Abdul Muktadir discusses future inclusion strategies in Pakistan’s banking industry, including banks being forced to open branches in rural and under-served areas if they want to expand
Finland paper investigates how to escape liquidity traps
Bank of Finland study examines whether stimulus or austerity is more effective at avoiding liquidity traps
IMF paper evaluates Latin American interest rates
Research published by the IMF examines if interest rates in Latin American countries are contributing to a stable inflation rate and economic growth
IMF says urgent action required in eurozone
Fund’s Global Financial Stability Report highlights progress with reforms in Europe but warns risks have increased since April; says eurozone policy-makers must act quickly to ensure stability
Egyptian reserves fall by more than 50% to $15bn
Political unrest in Egypt has resulted in the country seeing its foreign exchange reserves tumble by $21 billion. But the situation has stabilised during the past few months
Polish paper says PPP model can predict short-term exchange rates
National Bank of Poland study finds real exchange rates can be forecast more accurately with the half-life PPP model, even in the short term
Iosco calls for tighter regulation of money market funds
Recommendations aimed at reducing systemic risk posed by money market funds; report published despite opposition from the US Securities and Exchange Commission
Bangladesh governor moves to stamp out imbalances
Atiur Rahman says the Bangladesh central bank will act firmly to prevent build-up of banking imbalances; tells bank CEOs to co-operate with new regulations
Bond market contagion permanently increased in Emu, says Czech paper
Czech National Bank research investigates increased contagion of sovereign bond markets in European Monetary Union; evaluates impact of rating agencies
Adaptability key to stability, says Shirakawa
Bank of Japan governor reviews the main roles of central banks and says adaptability is now crucial to achieving other goals
ECB chief views speed of reform as critical for success
ECB chief Mario Draghi calls for the fast implementation of single supervisory mechanism despite many details remaining unclear; others say reform needs to be more ‘thought out’
IMF says fiscal consolidation still needed
The ability for many governments to eschew austerity in favour of fiscal spending to spur growth is limited; authorities will also struggle to ‘inflate’ their way out of debt, IMF report finds
Risks of a serious global slowdown ‘alarmingly high', says IMF
IMF lowers global growth forecast; says influence of highly accommodative policies by central banks may be diminishing and the probability of an ‘alarming’ scenario for growth stands at 17%
Eurozone firewall inaugurated as bailouts loom
First meeting of board of governors of the European Stability Mechanism held in Luxembourg with Jean-Claude Juncker describing new institution as a ‘permanent and effective firewall’
Riksbank tightens collateral requirements
Swedish central bank moves against trend in Europe by tightening collateral conditions for loans; will offer banks a transitional period to adjust
G-Sibs facing ‘a tall order’ in meeting 2016 data deadline, UK regulator warns
The FSA’s Gerald Sampson says large, complex banks may struggle to meet a 2016 deadline for risk data aggregation and reporting standards
Bermuda Monetary Authority expands regulation team
Bermuda Monetary Authority plans to expand headcount in banking and insurance regulatory departments
Most countries set to miss Basel III deadline
Progress report on Basel III implementation reveals no country has yet adopted final rules; Stefan Ingves says it is clear some jurisdictions will miss January 1 deadline
Norway’s SWF adds further $560m of property to portfolio
Government Pension Fund Global continues progress towards 5% of fund invested in real estate with purchase of 50% stake in UK’s Meadowhall shopping centre
Spillovers at ‘zero lower-bound’ examined by BoE paper
Bank of England study investigates how monetary policy decisions by large countries in low interest-rate environments affect the ability of small economies to stimulate demand
Fed paper studies impact of fiscal reform within a monetary union
Research published by the Federal Reserve considers the effects of a unilateral shift in taxation policy within a monetary union and finds that risk of spillovers only comes with full integration
Linde says Spain on the path to fiscal adjustment
The governor of the Bank of Spain says country is attaining fiscal adjustment and the largest challenge to the economy is restoring market confidence
Mauritius MPC split on September rates decision
Three members of the Bank of Mauritius’s monetary policy committee called for more accommodative monetary policy last month