Central Banking
RBI minutes show disagreement over policy direction
Minutes of the Reserve Bank of India’s July meeting reveal divergent views on monetary policy; however members agree government is best placed to address weak growth and high inflation
BoE weighs distributional effects of QE
Paper assesses impact of quantitative easing on overall economy and examines distributional effects; finds main benefits for holders of assets and well-funded pension schemes
Macedonia seeks to influence expectations
National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia unveils new research programme; hopes to improve communication to better manage expectations
Bank of Namibia cuts rates due to uncertain economic outlook
Central bank reduces benchmark rate by 50 basis points; says cut necessary to support economy despite inflationary pressure and “rapid” growth in consumer credit
HKMA names Huo as new PBoC advisor
Huo Yingli will take over from Mu Huaipeng as the PBoC official seconded to offer financial co-operation assistance between China and Hong Kong
South African paper assesses micro data and policy responses
Sarb working paper explores pricing conduct at a micro-data-set level and how this affects monetary policy; finds results diverge from Bayesian estimation techniques
MAS chairman calls for shift away from structural reform
The Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Tharman Shanmugaratnam believes there is too much emphasis on structural reform when dealing with systemic risk; calls for a change in culture and supervision
ECB hiring may not be enough to cope with workload, says Ipso chief
Union head says European Central Bank’s plan to recruit 40 additional staff to help cope with increased workload is unlikely to be sufficient
BoC’s Cote says debt distributions useful in gauging systemic risk
Bank of Canada deputy governor Agathe Cote says aggregate indicators are not sufficient for judging systemic risk; distribution of debt is as important as the overall amount
BoE paper studies public banking interventions
A Bank of England study finds that when it comes to public intervention in banking, size matters; indicates that interventions made during the current crisis were successful
RBA refutes fresh allegations of bribery cover-up
Reserve Bank of Australia denies claims that a document was hidden from investigators; says governor Glenn Stevens did not mislead a parliamentary committee
Denmark names new governor
ATP pension fund head Lars Rohde named as new governor of the National Bank of Denmark
China is entering crisis “danger zone”, says BoJ’s Nishimura
High real estate prices and an aging demographic profile in China are reaching a stage where they could trigger a financial crisis, says Bank of Japan deputy governor Kiyohiko Nishimura
Bundesbank criticises ECB bond-buying proposals
Decision to share solvency risks should be taken by European governments not the ECB, says Deutsche Bundesbank; warns German government debt ratio likely to rise this year
ECB paper finds new commodity transmission link for inflation
European Central Bank working paper explores relationship between demand shocks and inflation; reveals commodity prices indirectly magnify the effects
Philadelphia Fed paper examines private monetary system
A Philadelphia Fed study explores the public and private provision of money; finds that a central bank does contribute to monetary stability
BoE counters concerns raised in Fixing Libor report
The Bank of England says new laws and processes will give the central bank greater regulatory powers in the future to deal with episodes similar to Libor
RBA minutes show bond yields at “historic low”
Reserve Bank of Australia’s August monetary policy minutes note historically low bond yields; offshore purchases of Australian dollar remain high
Netherlands Bank paper analyses optimal size of ESM
Paper studies motivations for contributing to the European Stability Mechanism; finds the fund may need to increase in size
Some CPI indexes inappropriate for inflation targeting, says Leyland
Royal Statistical Society vice-president Jill Leyland assesses difficulties in constructing accurate inflation indexes; says consumer price indexes will “never be far from controversy”
Japan seeks changes to Dodd-Frank extraterritoriality on swaps
The Japanese authorities have asked their US counterpart to reconsider extraterritorial rules on swaps and defer regulation of cross-border over-the-counter derivatives regulation for at least a year
Dombret urges international collaboration on regulatory reform
Deutsche Bundesbank’s Andreas Dombret wants greater international co-ordination on regulatory reform; says countries should honour their commitments
Bank of Lithuania clamps down on credit unions
The Bank of Lithuania has introduced tougher prudential requirements for credit unions as it seeks to safeguard the interests of depositors
Robert Pringle’s Viewpoint: Restoring trust in finance
The financial crisis and numerous scandals have shattered confidence in banks and financial markets. What can central bankers do to restore trust in the financial system?