Central Banking
Bank of Japan praised for post-disaster actions
Government representatives at monetary policy meeting expressed appreciation for the central bank’s “swift and appropriate actions after the earthquake”
Turkey releases latest inflation report
Central Bank of Turkey April 2011 Inflation Report covers new policy strategy
IIF: cross-border resolution regime an ‘absolute priority’
Global trade body for banking industry calls on G-20 to set up task force; calls on banks to identify “critical functions” that need to be preserved in the event of failure
Yellen defends IMF proposals on capital controls
Federal Reserve vice-chair takes Fund line on framework to tackle capital inflows; follows criticism of framework from Indian, Brazilian officials
S&P lowers Greece rating
Credit rating agency lowers Greece sovereign ratings; believes eurozone official creditors “may see a restructuring of official and commercial debt as the best way forward”
Elderfield details Ireland's new risk assessment model
Matthew Elderfield, head of financial regulation at the Central Bank of Ireland, reveals details of new ‘Prism’ risk assessment model
Rwanda promotes vice-governor
Claver Gatete, the vice-governor at the National Bank of Rwanda, is promoted to governor; former governor Francois Kanimba takes government role
Bini Smaghi favourite to next lead Bank of Italy
Analysts say European Central Bank executive board member Lorenzo Bini Smaghi is strong candidate to lead Bank of Italy should current governor Mario Draghi move to Frankfurt
Too big to fail must end; FDIC chair Bair
Being labelled a Sifi will not mean being anointed too big to fail, leading to automatic bailouts, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation chairman, Sheila Bair warns
EU governance reform falls short of quantum leap: Trichet
European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet calls for less discretion to application of Stability and Growth Pact
Bheenick wards off pressure to intervene in foreign currency markets
Bank of Mauritius governor Rundheersing Bheenick says central bank will not intervene in markets to artificially depreciate rupee
Phasing in Basel III rules eases economic costs: IMF paper
Fund study shows that implementing higher capital and liquidity requirements over a lengthy period of time can help reduce the macroeconomic costs of enforcing such rules
Cash has a future: Sweden’s Nyberg
Riksbank deputy governor Lars Nyberg predicts cash will continue to be used for payment despite decline in usage
Indonesia issues tough sanctions for Citibank
Bank Indonesia bans Citi from opening branches for a year
Bernanke sheds light on new macroprudential approach
Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke touches on benefits of new macroprudential approach in the United States under the Dodd-Frank Act
Jamaica top of the (volleyball) league
Bank of Jamaica triumphs in one day volleyball rally
China set to sign currency swap with Mongolia
Bank of Mongolia to sign currency swap agreement with People’s Bank of China; deal will mark Beijing’s tenth such deal in less than three years
Grameen Bank dodges Yunus departure by appointing Nobel Laureate as chairman
Bangladesh’s Supreme Court rejects appeal to dismissal of Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus from Grameen Bank; microlender appoints Yunus to chair its board instead
Israel acts to avoid housing crisis
Israel introduces rules limiting amount of mortgage that can be linked to variable rate
Dallas Fed’s Fisher urges policymakers to focus on underlying inflation
Dallas Federal Reserve president Richard Fisher says policymakers should pay greater attention to underlying rather than headline inflation
Iceland minutes shows dissent from MPC member
Central Bank of Iceland Monetary Policy Committee minutes says one dissenter voted to raise rates by 25 basis points amid growing inflationary pressures
Mersch on Basel III liquidity proposals
Central Bank of Luxembourg governor Yves Mersch says Basel III bank liquidity proposals will prevent build-up in liquidity risk
ECB’s Tumpel-Gugerell on cost of ex-post crisis measures
European Central Bank executive board member Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell says large costs to clean up asset-price bubbles should lend support to more preemptive policies
Estonia ousts deputy governors
Supervisory board rejects re-election of current deputy governors, new candidates already named