Central Banking
King ‘baffled’ by suggestion of internal investigation
Governor of the Bank of England says he is “baffled” by Treasury Select Committee recommendation that the central bank investigate its own handling of the financial crisis
SNB commits to controversial exchange rate policy
Swiss national bank pledges to protect minimum exchange rate against the euro; says currency value is 'still high'
Fitch warns UK over AAA rating
Fitch shifts UK rating outlook to negative; raises expectations for budget announcement later this month
Liikanen urges controlled and timely policy readjustments
Governor of the Bank of Finland applauds impact of emergency ECB policy steps and talks of careful unwinding of positions
Fed launches Twitter account
Federal Reserve Board to 'tweet' information on speeches and reports to the Congress, among other items
Robert Pringle's Viewpoint: Strauss-Kahn on central banks, the euro and the dollar
Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s personal failings deprived the world of a leader with the expertise, vision and drive to push though vital monetary and economic reform. But his views still hold weight
ECB reveals dip in G-20 GDP growth
European Central Bank announces G-20 GDP growth slowed to 0.7% in the fourth quarter of 2011
IMF paper looks at long-term prosperity in China
IMF research suggests China could enhance long-term income by implementing reforms to weaken protection of monopolies and encourage entry in all industries
BoE’s Haldane wants to see common financial language
Andrew Haldane calls for consistent language use in financial industry; says financial crisis exposed failures in information systems at many firms
Bernanke highlights importance of community banks
Chairman of the federal reserve says "fair, consistent and informed examinations" must take into account the "size, complexity and individual circumstances" of each bank the Fed oversees
Juncker confirms release of latest funds for Greece
Eurogroup approves second adjustment programme in Greece; first instalment of €39.4 billion of emergency funding to be released
Moody’s downgrades Cyprus to junk status
Rating agency drops rating for Cypriot government bonds to Ba1; says concerns over banking sector’s exposure to Greece are to blame
Norway lowers benchmark rate again
Norges Bank surprises markets by announcing 0.25 percentage point cut to key policy rate; governor says continuing downturn abroad and strong krone are keeping inflation low and "weighing on growth"
China prepares for MPC overhaul
State news agency reveals new members of monetary policy committee; all three are senior academics in the country
Fed releases stress test results early
Federal Reserve reveals results of latest bank stress testing two days early; finds majority of largest US banks would continue to meet expectations for capital adequacy despite large projected losses
Fed working paper studies inflation risk premium
New Federal Reserve Board working paper uses evidence from Treasury inflation protected securities market to investigate inflation risk premiums
ECB working paper proposes indicator of systemic stress
European Central Bank researchers outline a new indicator of contemporaneous stress in the financial system, called the composite indicator of systemic stress
Weidman explains plummeting Bundesbank profit
President of the Deutsche Bundesbank explains why profit dropped drastically in 2011; increased risks led central bank to boost buffers
Netherlands Bank working paper studies media impact on debit card use
Research finds “significant” impact of newspaper articles about skimming fraud on same day debit card usage
BoE’s Fisher warns of potential policy conflict
Paul Fisher describes potential for conflict between the policy decisions of the MPC reflecting desire to meet inflation target, versus the FPC's aim to maintain financial stability
BoJ to continue easing until it hits 1% inflation goal
The Bank of Japan says it plans to continue "powerful easing" until a 1% inflation target is in sight but rejects motion to increase its asset purchase programme by another 5 trillion yen
Hong Kong and Malaysia launch investment and settlement pilot platform
Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Bank Negara Malaysia and Euroclear Bank launch new pilot platform for cross-border investment and settlement of debt securities; culmination of work started in 2008
Draghi urges government action to spur recovery
President of the European Central Bank discusses internal and external eurozone competition and calls on countries to act during period of relative financial stability to advance economic reforms
Kenyan parliament clears central bank governor
Chaotic debates in Kenyan parliament result in Njuguna Ndung'u being cleared of personal responsibility over collapse of Kenyan shilling