Central Banking
Israel stress test results show room for improvement
Results of stress tests show Israeli banks need to improve Core Tier I capital and risk management practices
Former Estonian official advises prime minister before Helsinki move
Märten Ross takes up prime minister advisory role before joining as adviser to Bank of Finland’s monetary policy and research department
Gono urges caution in banking sector split
Gideon Gono says indigenisation and economic empowerment plan must be applied in a way that benefits the population most broadly; urges caution in division of banking industry
Towards a global monetary policy
US monetary policy must change as the dollar’s dominance wanes, writes Allan H. Meltzer.
Tunisia struggling to regain stability
'Sharp regression' in mining and tourism leads executive board to call for 'ongoing follow-up of the economic situation' in the country
BoE’s Haldane considers policy to stem pro-cyclicality of haircuts
Bank of England executive director of financial stability Andy Haldane says minimum collateral requirements could be used to ease pro-cyclical nature of haircuts
China focus remains on inflation fight
Prudent monetary policy to continue, says central bank; fighting inflation is still top priority
Norway SWF adds more London properties to portfolio
Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global takes 25% share in two London properties; move follows $700 million investment in London’s Regent Street
Lithuania’s Vasiliauskas calls for prudent lending standards
Bank of Lithuania chairman Vitas Vasiliauskas urges caution over lending standards in Lithuania as banks return to profitability
Asymmetric information amplifies borrowing costs: BIS paper
Bank for International Settlements study shows that higher spreads are charged to syndicates due to asymmetry of information in loan markets
Bric FDI important source of growth to LICs: IMF paper
Fund study highlights importance of Bric foreign direct investment in low-income countries’ development strategy
ECB paper identifies benefits of forecast aggregation
European Central Bank study shows forecast aggregation can significantly improve forecast performance
Asymmetry of monetary policy in new EU member states tested: Czech National Bank
A working paper from the Czech National Bank investigates asymmetry of monetary policy in new EU member states
Online banking poses challenges: RBI’s Padmanabhan
New executive director responsible for the IT, payment and settlement systems and foreign exchange department discusses challenges of online and telephone banking
Obama acknowledges AAA credit rating at risk
Obama says result of downgrade would be “like a tax on everyone” with higher interest rates; remains hopeful that there are “plenty of ways out of this mess”
Swiss National Bank posts large loss due to surge in currency
SNB records Sfr10.8 billion ($13.7 billion) loss for the first half of 2011; blames strong appreciation of Swiss franc
Asian Development Bank encourages regional policy cooperation
The Asian Development Bank wants to see increased regional policy cooperation to ensure more balanced and sustained growth in emerging East Asia
Questions raised over UK’s FX volume surge
Market participants attribute a range of factors to the 23% rise in FX turnover in the UK reported by the Bank of England's FX Joint Standing Committee on July 25
Turkmen central bankers jailed
Three central bank officials jailed; latest in long history of dramatics at the country’s central bank
Evolving UK and US macroeconomic dynamics investigated: Bank paper
Bank of England working paper uses model of deterministic structural change to chart the changing UK and US macroeconomic dynamics
Elderfield sets out the future of Irish banking
Deputy governor lays out plans to strengthen and restructure banks, improve governance and supervision and manage credit risk
Fed warns of Dodd-Frank clash with Basel III
Proposal to remove references to credit rating agencies conflicts with Basel III wording; Fed faces tough process to find alternative standards of creditworthiness
Cyprus fiscal woes deepen as Moody’s downgrades
Moody’s downgrades Cyprus two notches as country’s fiscal problems force government to resign
Bank’s Miles allays fears over economic costs of Basel III
Bank of England external Monetary Policy Committee member David Miles says Basel III requirements will not have negative bearing on economy, as long as the transition is gradual