Central Banking
Swiss profits soar to $10 billion
Gold gains will see the Swiss National Bank book CHF10 billion in profits for 2009
Fed retort: nothing to hide on AIG
Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, invites the government to audit the central bank’s dealings with AIG; NY Fed submits 250,000 pages of evidence to Congress
Merger has begun confirms Irish CB
Ireland’s central bank says preparations for full integration with regulator have started as proposed legislation gathers steam
Norway’s SWF looks to emerging markets
Government Pension Fund-Global, the Norges Bank-run oil fund, thrived in the crisis as a result of its equity-laden and highly diversified portfolio, says government investment chief
ECB plans regulatory training for EU candidates
ECB says it will partner the European Commission and international organisations to strengthen supervision in countries seeking entry to the EU
Two challenges for policy in the near future
Donald Kohn, vice chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, set out his views on the Fed’s exit and the potential to include asset prices and financial stability questions in monetary policy.
Recapitalise, don’t remunerate – ECB’s Bini Smaghi
European Central Bank’s Lorenzo Bini Smaghi says banks should prepare to meet stronger demand for credit when economy improves
Wait and see on rates – MPC minutes
Bank of England’s monetary policy committee is unanimous is decisions to hold rates and the size of the quantitative easing programme
New DSGE model for Estonia
Bank of Estonia makes public its new dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model for the domestic economy
Suicide attack rocks Afghan central bank
Governor says central bank will not be cowed and is working to return to business as usual
King: G20 should head IMF
Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England, says G20 leadership could lend the IMF the legitimacy it needs to curb economic imbalances
Canada holds rates steady
The Bank of Canada keeps its key rate unchanged and cuts back its money market operations on the strength of the economy’s recovery
Record inflation growth in the UK
CPI rises by highest-ever monthly margin, QE extension looks less likely
Fed’s Duke is optimistic for 2010
Elizabeth Duke, a governor of the Federal Reserve Board, says she is optimistic that the volume of bank loans will increase this year
How risk management will evolve: RBI’s Thorat
Usha Thorat, a deputy governor of the Indian central bank, says business models and an intuitive approach to risk are key to banks’ success post-crisis
Who should decide on LoLR support?
Central Bank of Uruguay’s Jorge Ponce looks at who should decide on emergency liquidity assistance
Rethinking risk aversion in asset-price models
San Francisco Fed shows measuring household risk aversion correctly is crucial for understanding asset prices
ECB winds up euro-franc swap line
The European Central Bank says it will let seven day euro-franc swap line expire at the end of January in a further sign that it is withdrawing extraordinary support measures
Brazil broadens settlement universe
The Brazilian central bank grants brokers and dealers direct access to its Selic settlement system
Accurate inflation forecast crucial for exit plan
St Louis Fed looks at challenges in designing effective exit policy
Timing is everything: RBI’s Subbarao on exit
RBI governor Duvvuri Subbarao stresses the need to support recovery while addressing soaring inflation a week ahead of next policy meeting
Swiss govt must defend free trade – SNB’s Roth
Swiss National Bank’s Jean-Pierre Roth says weak growth, unemployment, public finance and inflation key future challenges
Bank of Estonia – Financial Stability Review 2/2009
Bank of Estonia says borrowers’ capability to repay debt is the main risk to stability
Bank of Italy – Economic Bulletin January 2010
Bank of Italy – Economic Bulletin January 2010 Bank of Italy says recovery will be sluggish in 2010 and 2011