Central Banking
Federal Reserve Banks to work with Swift to make cross-border payments ‘more traceable’
US payment systems partner with Swift to improve cross-border payment speed and traceability; Federal Reserve Banks and The Clearing House make gpi available to clients
Seychelles governor underscores the challenges facing SMEs
Abel says they lack funding as well as non-financial support; central bank will work with commercial sector to come up with a strategy for SME lending
Charlotte Hogg resigns from Bank of England
New deputy governor is stepping down as a damning report on her conflict of interest and suitability for the role is published
Deregulation could lead to further crisis – Lautenschläger
ECB supervisor worried by politicians’ calls for regulatory loosening
Danish GDP revision helps solve productivity puzzle – bank
Figures better capture details of the current account, leading to substantial revisions in GDP and productivity growth, the Danish central bank finds
Atlanta Fed names new president
Raphael Bostic will be first African-American to be a regional Fed president
IMF authors examine conditions for structural reform success
Most labour and product market reforms strengthen medium-term output and fiscal sustainability, but they may be painful to implement in some parts of the cycle
RBI research: demonetisation hit growth but helped inclusion
Authors find scrapping high-value notes impacted Indian growth and inflation but pushed many people to open bank accounts and improved policy transmission
Iceland lifts capital controls
Controls on individuals, firms and pension funds lifted, though the central bank will retain controls on inflows to resist carry trade
How Venezuela can stop hyperinflation – now
Redenominating the currency will only prolong the pain, says Steve Hanke. More drastic measures are needed
Foreign bank branches show more volatile lending – Norges Bank commentary
Foreign branches may be subject to lower capital requirements, giving them a competitive edge but also making their lending growth more volatile
Central banks’ liquidity injections may amplify bank runs, paper argues
ESRB paper looks at 2008 US crisis using simple model of bank runs
Nigerian recovery plan envisages new exchange rate regime
Plan calls for rationalisation of exchange rate structure and echoes many of central bank governor’s criticisms of status quo
IMF paper offers new ways of measuring capital flow volatility
Authors say more granular dataset and three different methods of calculating capital flow volatility allow them to gain new insights
US policy is “ultimate risk” for emerging markets – panellists
Expert panel says US fiscal, trade and monetary policy all have the potential to cause trouble for emerging markets in the coming months, though some risks seem over-stated
BoJ working to earthquake-proof its headquarters
Historic building has survived major disasters in the past, but the BoJ now wants to put the 75,000 ton building on “seismic isolation bearings”
People: FSB appoints Kganyago and Chan to committees; Bank of Spain picks new directors-general
Financial Stability Board replaces Menon and Tarullo with South African and HKMA governors; Bank of Spain makes appointments in financial stability and supervision; and more
‘Substantial’ accommodation must continue – Draghi
ECB president says underlying eurozone inflation remains “subdued”, despite rise in headline rate; he sounds the alarm over the possibility of a “competitive devaluation” by advanced economies
Loan-to-credit ratios affected stability of smaller German banks – paper
Bundesbank researchers look at data on “critical events” from 1995 to 2013
Chinese bitcoin exchanges continue prohibiting withdrawals
Bitcoin exchanges suspend withdrawals indefinitely following statement from PBoC official; central bank does see benefits to the technology
NPLs remain an issue, says Serbian governor Tabaković
Corporate sector accounts for 45% of total NPLs, notes governor
Somalian central bank to print first notes since 1991
New 1,000 shilling looks set to enter circulation in 2017 with extensive assistance being provided by the IMF; central bank has struggled to operate amid civil war
Ghana issues banknote with QR code
New ¢5 note with 2D barcode to help educate the public on the numerous security features; bank to celebrate sixtieth birthday in August
BIS authors spot structural break in bank financing
Research identifies turning point in how banks fund themselves around 2008, with greater reliance on branches and subsidiaries