Central Banking
Negative equity has large impact on household mobility: NY Fed paper
New York Federal Reserve study says households in negative equity are far less likely to relocate than most homeowners
Sovereign debt strains felt in New Zealand: RBNZ report
Reserve Bank of New Zealand November Financial Stability Report says eurozone crisis continues to act as constraint on demand in New Zealand
Monetary policy and financial stability intrinsically linked: ECB’s Praet
European Central Bank executive board member Peter Praet, says central banks must lean against, rather than clean-up, imbalances under new financial stability paradigm
German banks face new set of risks as contagion spreads across Europe
Bundesbank 2011 Financial Stability Review says Germany’s banking system will face new burdens as sovereign debt crisis in Europe intensifies
Israel Administrative Council holds first meeting
Bank of Israel holds first Administrative Council meeting after lengthy delay in appointing external members
Zambia governance void continues
Bank of Zambia website lists every position on the board of directors as “vacant”; still no new governor after Caleb Fundanga was fired
Lorenzo Bini Smaghi to leave the ECB
Lorenzo Bini Smaghi will join Harvard University’s Center for International Affairs in January; ends term at ECB more than a year early
Papademos confirmed as Greek prime minister
Former ECB vice-president chosen as prime minister in new coalition government; news received well as stock market jumps
Lagarde holds crucial talks with Beijing
IMF managing director Christine Lagarde meets Chinese premier Wen Jiabao to discuss the country’s economic response to the global slowdown; warns international economy could face lost decade of growth
National Bank of Austria to invest in renminbi-denominated assets
People’s Bank of China and National Bank of Austria sign agreement enabling the Austrian central bank to invest in renminbi-denominated assets
Eurozone fears spread worldwide
Indonesia drops rate in surprise move, Lithuania and Mexico slash growth forecasts as the UK prepares for “Armageddon”
Bernanke emphasises importance of small business in US recovery
Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke says small businesses play a key role in providing job opportunities and economic recoveries
Negative monetary policy effects from declines in pledgable collateral: IMF paper
Fund study says reuse of pledgable collateral by banks and dealers contributed to dry-up of liquidity during global financial crisis
Fears of widespread contagion are rising: RBA’s Lowe
Reserve Bank of Australia assistant governor Philip Lowe says growing turbulence in global markets due to mounting government debt and weak banking systems
Stark demands financial sector refocus
European Central Bank executive board member Jürgen Stark says financial sector became too “self-referential” in recent decades and must refocus activities on banking services
Credit-leading indicator to trigger countercyclical buffer phases: BIS paper
Bank for International Settlements study shows that credit-to-GDP ratio is best indicator for build-up and release phases of countercyclical capital buffers
Bank bail-outs risk instability in emerging market economies: IMF paper
Fund study says emerging markets are at risk of creating further macroeconomic instability by injecting money into financial system
Italy reaches crisis point as bond yields soar
Announcement that Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi will resign does little to calm markets; bond yields hit euro area record high, raising the stakes for a potential default
Athens heeds Greek governor's plea to agree on coalition government
Outgoing prime minister confirms agreement on coalition government; hours after Bank of Greece governor George Provopoulos called for Athens to stop political squabbling
Canada announces renewed inflation target range
Canadian government and central bank announce renewal of the inflation-control target for the central bank; goal to remain the 2% mid-point of a 1-3% range
Iran deputy governor remains in custody
Hamid Pourmohammadi remains in custody as investigation into banking fraud continues; new UN report could lead to more sanctions on the country
Plosser pushes for adoption of explicit inflation target
Philadelphia Federal Reserve president Charles Plosser calls for Fed to introduce explicit inflation-targeting framework
Central Bank of Brazil paper on designing an effective macroprudential framework
Central Bank of Brazil study says macro-prudential tools can adversely influence monetary policy transmission mechanism
Ireland releases agreement on split of banking oversight responsibilities
Previously confidential memorandum of understanding between department of finance and central bank shows split of responsibilities; document forms part of bail-out programme