Central Banking
Portuguese governor clashes with government
Treasury intends to transfer banking resolution competencies out of the central bank
Bank of Ghana pauses policy easing on inflation worries
Central bank holds interest rates at 21% to see if external pressures will prove persistent; improvement in export prices will provide country with buffer against shocks
Good data management key to extracting value from big data – panellists
Big data proves most useful when backed by a well-designed production chain – but it comes at a cost, central bank data experts say
BoE issues consumer credit warning to banks
Preliminary stress-test results show UK banking system could incur £30bn loss over three years; UK central bank says financial system is “underestimating losses”
Monetary Authority of Singapore courts Asia bond issuers
MAS aims to strengthen Singapore’s position as Asia’s fixed-income hub for bond issuers
Non-bank stress tests must be improved – Constâncio
ECB vice-president says stress tests for non-banks are still in a “fledgling state”
People: New Kyrgyz governor; six promotions in Sri Lanka
Kubanychbek Kulmatov takes over at NBKR after former governor departs early; six employees made assistant governors in Sri Lanka; and more
Central banks will be using blockchain by 2019 – research
Study examines pros and cons of central banks adopting blockchain and considers use cases
Nigerian state uses central bank as ‘piggy bank’ – MPC member
Central bank policies are crowding out private investment, economist argues
Danish central bank advises Faroese public spending cuts
Higher salmon prices and low unemployment may overheat the economy, the central bank says
Uruguay’s digital currency pilot ‘close to launch’, says governor
Central bank’s initiative will allow the public to access digital currency via mobile wallets; Ecuador’s prototype proves a flop
Kuroda deflects criticism of 2% target
BoJ governor pushes back at those calling for a reduction in the target, as inflation in Japan remains off course
DLT not ready for retail payments – Bundesbank
German central bank says retail payment systems are already sufficient to support fast transfers; DLT could be used to streamline global payment processes
European Commission announces supervisory agency reforms
Proposals would see Esma’s powers significantly increased while all ESAs would gain executive boards
SNB’s Jordan praises John Taylor legacy
The governor values how the Taylor rule has provided policy guidance, becoming an important benchmark
Czech exchange rate floor helped fight deflation – IMF paper
Range of methods imply the exchange rate floor was an effective measure, having been employed after hitting the zero lower bound
‘Fault lines’ may be re-emerging, warns Bini Smaghi
Societe Generale chairman says supervisors should not rest easy until they have a better understanding of the “fundamental causes” of financial crises
Sarb concerned with KPMG audits in South Africa
Auditor reshuffles local leadership and carries out investigation, but may lose major clients
Central banks may be thinking wrongly about inflation – Borio
BIS economist says inflation may not always and everywhere be a monetary phenomenon, which could help explain why the natural rate is so low
Bank of Russia will be able to handle fallout from failing banks, analysts say
Central bank puts two more banks into administration; observers disagree over effectiveness of Nabiullina’s reform efforts
HKMA pledges $1bn to IFC infrastructure platform
HKMA commits $1 billion of its Exchange Fund to International Finance Corporation’s syndicated loan platform to invest in infrastructure projects
Banks fear uneven playing field on NSFR
Asian jurisdictions are likely to implement the key liquidity metric before the US and Europe
Don Kohn extols virtues of co-operation across policy domains
Good communication between policymakers in different spheres and complementary policy action can bring significant benefits, FPC member says
IMF’s Lagarde gives update on women’s empowerment pledges
The fund has teamed up with the UK to provide ‘gender-budgeting’ assistance to countries requesting financial management support