Central Banking
Vietnam proposes lifting gold ban to stem inflation
State Bank of Vietnam head of foreign exchange Nguyen Quang Huy says restrictions on gold imports may be lifted if domestic prices are unsustainable; move could help contain inflation
Angola appoints new governor
Commercial bank head José de Lima Massano joins National Bank of Angola following government reshuffle
Recovery has lost steam and risks remain high, IMF warns
IMF's latest financial stability report strikes a cautionary note about the stalled economic recovery
St Louis Fed: forward rates provide investors little advantage
St Louis Federal Reserve study says informational value of longer term forward rates provides no additional economic benefits
BoJ: low interest rates boost bank lending
Bank of Japan Economic and Financial Developments report says bank lending showing signs of improvement
Philly Fed: school failure insurance reduces dropout rates
Philadelphia Federal Reserve study says introduction of insurance against college failure risk could increase retention rate
RBA develops more robust monetary policy model
Reserve Bank of Australia study uses sign restriction VAR models to explain exchange rate puzzle in measuring monetary policy
Pay attention to monetary aggregates: Canada’s Macklem
Bank of Canada senior deputy governor Tiff Macklem says interest rate transmission blockages make money, credit data key in crisis; adds voice to growing chorus of central bankers
US Treasury slashes forecast for cost of Tarp
US Treasury estimates cost of government bailout at $30 billion, less than a tenth of original forecast
Brussels crafts principles for bank account access
European Commission consults on principles to ground law granting universal access to basic bank accounts; 6% of adults do not have a bank account
Anglo bailout prompts Ireland downgrade
Fitch knocks Irish debt one notch; says higher bailout cost will impair fiscal consolidation plans
Japan edges towards zero bound
Bank of Japan cuts benchmark rate to 0% to 0.1% range, announces further stimulus
RBI names working group to review key open market operations
Reserve Bank of India names working group members assessing liquidity adjustment facility; six out of ten from central bank
Riksbank: inefficient labour markets distort growth
Riksbank study shows inefficiencies in output are related to the inefficient allocation of labour in the United States
NY Fed’s Sack on FOMC’s policy shift
New York Federal Reserve executive vice president Brian Sack said further measures represent meaningful shift in balance sheet path
IMF: Gulf bank balance sheets severely impaired by economic downturn
Fund study finds link between economic conditions in Gulf states and banks’ nonperforming loans in region
Chile’s De Gregorio praises economic recovery from earthquake
Central Bank of Chile governor José De Gregorio says economic recovery owes to permanent and temporary factors driving growth
IIF calls for accord to fix imbalances
Institute for International Finance (IIF) says major economies must broker agreements on critical macroeconomic and exchange-rate issues
Thailand relaxes FX controls
Moves follow baht’s appreciation
Basel Committee demands more rigorous governance standards
Basel Committee on Banking Supervision issues new corporate governance principles for banks; calls for independent chief risk officer
Paper problems delay release of new $100 note
Federal Reserve says sporadic creasing of paper on new banknote will setback release of new $100 bill
Swiss to make UBS and Credit Suisse pay for systemic status
Swiss commission proposal beefs up Basel III for Credit Suisse and UBS with 19% capital requirement and other measures to tackle 'too big to fail' problem
Bank of Spain's Roldán highlights Basel III flaws
Basel III’s architecture, hybrid capital and liquidity buffers among potential pitfalls; views shared by BaFin's Sanio
BaFin's Sanio: no fix for cross-border failure
Jochen Sanio says supervisors nowhere near to solving “key issue” highlighted by crisis; flags lack of communication on Lehman Brothers