Central Banking
Target2 robust enough to withstand liquidity shocks – ECB study
Research modelled the effects of “extreme collateral deteriorations” on Target2 participants
Government regulation needed for digital currencies to remain secure – paper
Canadian paper draws historical comparison between banknotes and digital currencies, concluding regulation is needed to ensure safety
Researchers dig further into ‘Lazarus’ cyber attacks
Latest effort to crack case of cyber criminals unearths “fairly sophisticated” mechanism to target banks and regulators, and less sophisticated efforts to mislead investigators
Booms spill over less than busts – Riksbank paper
Financial booms appear to affect the real economy less than busts, suggesting macro-prudential policies will outperform “leaning against the wind”
Plummeting inflation prompts Bank of Zambia action
Central bank cuts policy rate by 150bp, in addition to a cut to the overnight lending rate and reserve ratio; inflation falls from over 18% to 7% in a matter of months
Irish deputy governor says Brexit will have negative impact on Ireland
Donnery says regulators must not allow “fragmented” supervisory system to emerge
RBI’s Acharya says India ‘urgently’ needs asset management company
New deputy governor says stressed assets must not be allowed to “fester”, sketching two possible designs for an asset management company
Mexico steps in to stabilise forex market
New derivatives contracts will be available to all credit institutions, with the first auction scheduled for March 6; a total of up to $20 billion will be allocated, central bank says
Broad sectors of Irish economy are ‘very connected’ – study
Irish research uses network analysis to look at sectoral linkages
Europe must strengthen money-laundering controls – EU agencies
Firms fail to properly implement AML/CFT policies, two-thirds of European national regulators say
Carstens agrees to stay at Bank of Mexico until December
Following a meeting with the Mexican president and finance minister, the governor will stay until end-November; BIS board approves the arrangement with general manager Caruana to stay until December
Sri Lankan governor appears before inquiry into alleged fraud
Critics allege malpractice involving firm owned by former governor’s son-in-law; local media report officials also worried by severe drought
BoE unlikely to predict next financial crisis, says MPC member
BoE MPC members grilled by MPs in forecasting models and past errors; Vlieghe says current models are just not good enough
New legislation to grant BoE more power over payments infrastructure
BoE’s Bailey details consolidation of core retail payment infrastructure along with UK central bank’s new powers
Uncertainty about momentum in the labour market – RBA minutes
“Mixed” picture in Australian labour market shows unemployment increasing alongside full-time employment; spare capacity likely to persist “for some time”
People: Riksbank’s Nessén takes on new advisory role; Albizu retains CMCA chair
Riksbank’s head of monetary policy takes on new board advisory role; Dominican governor reappointed by peers to serve as the CMCA’s chairman for another six years; and more
Market discipline stems Level 3 asset manipulation – paper
Bank of England paper shows link between low capital ratios and Level 3 assets between 2008–2013, but market discipline moderates the impact from accounting discretion
Nigeria’s central bank rolling back forex restrictions
Allocation rules are scrapped under the new regime, while all forex dealers must open outlets at airports to aid travellers; additional forex is to be made available for tuition and medical expenses
Banks fear fresh burden from new EU branch supervision plan
EBA insists enhanced supervision of largest branches will not bring additional requirements
IMF warns Bank of Mongolia against fiscal financing
Latest round of funding contingent on central bank making changes, mission chief says; support provided to help government deal with bond default, but fiscal changes must be made
ECB’s Cœuré argues against protectionism
ECB board member says protectionist policies reduce overall growth potential; calls for a more “efficient, enduring and equitable” approach to globalisation
Tech-related mismeasurement not to blame for 2004 slowdown
Fast growth between 1995 and 2004 is the “anomaly”, the authors suggest; further productivity growth is expected when the potential of latest advancements is realised
Fed’s Mester says public should not hold policymakers to ‘unrealistic account’
Monetary policy cannot and should not be used to spur productivity growth, says FOMC member; unwinding of Fed’s mortgage portfolio may help guard it against calls to enter the realm of fiscal policy
FOMC sentiment effects tested with ‘computational linguistics’
Economists find sentiment conveyed by FOMC statements affects policy expectations, inflation, and industrial production