Central Banking
Quarles defends past views amid Senate grilling
Trump’s pick for Fed regulation chief says hindsight is a wonderful thing, as he defends actions around crisis; Quarles says the Fed can improve regulatory transparency
Bank of Canada severs mechanical link to external ratings
After several years of work, the Bank of Canada is now “well positioned” to end its mechanistic reliance on external credit ratings, and is helping others do the same, says Philippe Muller
Philip Turner urges RBNZ to focus analysis on ‘new normal’
Former BIS official gives positive review of RBNZ’s monetary policymaking process, but recommends the central bank focus its efforts on understanding changing economic structure
People: IMF appoints new strategy head; ECB promotes directors
IMF promotes Lagarde’s chief of staff; Finland appoints research director
HKMA’s Exchange Fund posts record high investment income
Strong performance in equities and currency effects drove record investment result in the first half of 2017
Kganyago: monetary policy can't solve South Africa’s structural issues
Governor defends mandate, saying Sarb is focusing on what it “can do”, not “what it would like to do”; no “narrow focus”
Fed to begin shrinking balance sheet ‘relatively soon’
Rates remain on hold as the FOMC eyes below-target inflation, while the wording change implies that action on the balance sheet could begin sooner than previously expected
IMF designs new instrument amid rise of regional financing
The “policy co-ordination instrument” is designed to allow the fund to offer technical support to countries looking to unlock funding from regional arrangements
FCA set to replace Libor by 2022
The interbank lending rate was manipulated by major banks during the financial crisis to give a healthier picture of their credit quality
People: French deputy takes on stock market oversight; Myanmar set for change
French deputy made chairman of stock market regulator; new board and three deputies appointed at Myanmar central bank; Svein Andresen to depart the FSB
Malawi stock exchange needs urgent revamp, governor stresses
Lack of interest in stock market could cause financial stability issues as pension and life insurance funds grow, says Kabambe
Bank of England appoints new COO and deputy governor
Central bank announces replacement for Charlotte Hogg following her resignation in March; new deputy also set to take over from Minouche Shafik
Favourable inflation prompts 100bp cut in Brazilian interest rate
Central bank continues easing cycle as political uncertainty not feeding through to inflation; analysts expect another large cut this year
Eurozone’s demographics will continue to push interest rates down – paper
Structural policies will take time to reverse impact of adverse demographics, researchers say
Evolution of monetary policy in advanced economies spells trouble for emerging markets – paper
Research explores the impact future monetary policy will have on emerging markets, concluding many will be forced to implement defensive measures
Neutral rate down to around 3.5% in New Zealand – RBNZ deputy
Rate is challenging to estimate but central bank’s models and surveys suggest it has fallen in recent years to around 3.5%
Paper proposes method to estimate network of exposures
Researcher draws on aggregate exposures and market data to build a more complete picture of the network of bank exposures
Bank of Russia removes licensing powers from regional offices
Observers differ over the effectiveness of the central bank’s efforts to clean up the banking system
Trump says Yellen still in the running for renewed term
US president says he would consider reappointing Janet Yellen, although Gary Cohn and “two or three others” are in contention
Jaime Caruana defends pre-crisis record as Bank of Spain governor
Former governor says ultimate responsibility was on the “deficient” management of the regional savings banks, which relaxed their lending standards
Belize launches next phase of payment overhaul
Cheque payments which would have taken up to a week will be processed within 24 hours under new system, with further plans to revamp the securities market infrastructure in the pipeline
Flexible working may shift Nairu, ECB’s Mersch warns
Technology may increase insecurity and weaken collective bargaining, says senior ECB figure
BoE’s Brazier warns lenders of ‘spiral of complacency’
UK lenders may be starting to let standards slip as memories of the crisis fade, Alex Brazier says
Task force calls on Fed to upgrade settlement system
Faster payments task force urges Fed to expand settlement service to all hours and open it to new participants; Fed may need to play an “operational role”