Central Banking
Norwegian oil fund to divest Russian assets
Fund held equity investments in nearly 50 Russian companies, including Sberbank and Gazprom
Kyrgyz central bank raises rates 150 basis points
Central bank cites “geopolitical risks”, though high inflation was problem long before war
Global markets show signs of strain as Russia sanctions bite
Flight to safe havens is starting to create tensions in dollar funding markets
Sanctions prevent Bank of Russia FX interventions
Governor Elvira Nabiullina says central bank has not been able to support plummeting ruble
US, EU and UK tighten sanctions as Nabiullina orders massive rate rise
Bank of Russia implements more emergency measures as currency falls sharply
Emerging economies ‘remarkably’ resilient to Fed tightening, BIS says
Many EME currencies have appreciated, but Turkish lira and Russian ruble are notable exceptions
Botswana cancels cheques
Banks will cease processing cheques from 2024
US regulators fine Pakistani state-owned bank
Central bank-owned NBP will pay more than $55 million for AML shortcomings
ECB says Sberbank Europe is close to collapse
Russian-owned bank likely to be unable to pay its debts “in the near future”, supervisors say
Western officials call for freeze of Bank of Russia’s overseas assets
Nabiullina pledges liquidity support as Bundesbank official says any central bank assets are frozen
Some Eurosystem central banks hold Bank of Russia assets, ECB says
Holdings could become significant if further sanctions directly target Russian central bank
Bank of Mexico MPC minutes stress high core inflation
Core inflation increased by 6.2% in January and has risen for 14 consecutive months
Kazakhstan orders unscheduled 325bp hike
Central banks acts under new governor as Russian invasion of Ukraine drives currency down
BIS paper estimates slack in Mexico’s informal labour market
Calculating Nairu is challenging given large unregulated sector, authors say
BIS targets green bond growth with launch of Asian fund
“We expect a fast-growing market for green bonds,” says BIS banking head Peter Zöllner
Poland offers Ukraine swap line as NBU suspends FX transactions
Central bank says payments system is working well but tells citizens to minimise cash use
Russian central bank announces string of emergency measures
Bank of Russia announces liquidity support, FX interventions and changes to capital ratings
Ecuador congress removes bank regulator
Legislators charged Ruth Arregui with failure to perform duties of her office
Commodity prices rise sharply after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Energy prices already account for around 50% of headline inflation in the eurozone
People: Canadian deputy governor retires
Ghanaian deputy governor gets second term; IMF statistics director steps down, and more
Banks still falling short of final Basel III requirements
Basel Committee says some metrics seem to have been impacted by Covid-19
Fed officials debate risks of a ‘hot economy’
Academics and policy-makers weigh up whether economy is now overheating
US announces initial financial sanctions on Russia
Biden administration bars secondary market bond transactions, but expert says impact likely to be limited
RBA preparing changes to open market operations
Assistant governor says reforms needed as liquidity and monetary policy evolves