Central Banking
Emerging markets leading the way in cutting-edge payments innovations, UK report finds
Mobile payments embraced in emerging markets where banking infrastructure lags; Kenya’s M-Pesa system handles flows equivalent to a quarter of nation's GNP
Hungarian ‘bad bank’ gets Brussels go-ahead
European Commission authorises Hungary’s ‘bad bank’ to begin purchasing distressed real estate assets; Hungarian government and EBRD to buy up part of Erste Group operations
Certified central bankers: BoE launches new qualification
BoE says 80 students to begin postgraduate study in October; retiring Paul Fisher to help design and teach latter stages of qualification
Australian governor Stevens stresses policy ‘flexibility’
Governor says Reserve Bank of Australia has scope to ease monetary policy if need be, though economy expected to continue expanding
Polish central bank warns loan proposals could pose ‘significant risk’
Poland’s central bank criticises some elements of proposals for restructuring Swiss franc-denominated loans; also argues incoming banking tax will have ‘negative consequences’
No room for mediocrity, Kenya governor warns banks
Patrick Njoroge tells bankers there is ‘only the thinnest of margins’ for error; each customer should be treated as if they were ‘the only customer in the world’
ECB chooses SIA-Colt partnership for T2S connection
European Central Bank confirms it will use SIA and Colt's 'value-added network services' to connect to Target2-securities
Fischer raises concern over ‘stigma’ around Fed loans
Fed vice-chair Stanley Fischer warns new reporting requirements in the Dodd-Frank Act will “likely add to the challenge of reducing stigma” associated with borrowing from discount window
Irish central bank begins publishing commission minutes
Ireland’s central bank starts publishing minutes from commission meetings; oversight body’s minutes will be released ‘to provide greater understanding’ of internal debates
Lender of last resort function must be flexible to cope with crises, BoE’s Hauser says
Central banks should prepare in advance to open up lender of last resort frameworks to new counterparties and instruments, Bank of England executive director says
EBA raises concerns over Commission’s MREL changes
European Banking Authority challenges European Commission’s proposed changes to MREL criteria; opposes removal of reference to minimum burden-sharing standards
ECB ‘actively considering’ whether to scrap €500 note, Cœuré says
Executive board member says he finds arguments in favour of keeping highest denomination note ‘less and less convincing’, as evidence mounts of its role in corruption and crime
Lagarde only candidate for IMF top job
Executive board says Lagarde the only person put forward during nomination period, which closed yesterday; selection process to be completed ‘as soon as possible’
Riksbank cuts to new low, despite signs of overheating
Central bank pushes policy rate 15bp deeper into negative territory even as economy moves close to full capacity; board responding partly to policy easing abroad
BoE’s Cunliffe wants more detailed timetable for European reforms
Bank of England deputy governor welcomes ambition and honesty of five president report, published in June; hopes to see more detail on dates in future
Central Bank of Brazil faces ‘policy dilemmas’
Tombini facing tough challenge as inflation rises into double figures while the IMF predicts deeper recession; observers divided on what comes next
Danish economists test measure of systemic risk
National Bank of Denmark paper uses ‘SRISK’ measure to assess systemic risk in the Danish financial sector, finding it was a good predictor of banks that needed bailing out
People: Mozambique deputy moves to airline; Mervyn King joins Aston Villa FC board
Bank of Mozambique deputy moved from central bank to national airline; former BoE governor joins premier league team board of directors; and more
Yellen says Fed unsure about legal issues surrounding negative rates
Fed chair tells Congressional committee she sees no reason why the Fed could not cut below zero if need be, but legal issues have not been ‘fully investigated’
Research compares borrower-based macro-pru tools
Debt service-to-income caps generate ‘less pronounced macro feedback’ in the short term than loan-to-value limits, working paper finds
BoJ moves to ‘ease stress’ in JGB market
More generous limits applied to securities lending facility designed to alleviate strains in the market for government bonds, though liquidity indicators do not show clear signs of tightening
Bank recapitalisation is a ‘powerful’ policy instrument, paper suggests
Economy likely to remain in an ‘anaemic state’ until certain conditions met, research says; bank recapitalisation more effective than fiscal expansion in encouraging aggregate demand
Monetary policy does not ‘persistently impact’ bank lending, paper finds
Working paper published by Central Bank of Cyprus examines the impact of interest rate changes on both lending and credit risk
Research considers impact of fiscal consolidation on debt-to-GDP ratio
Working paper published by ECB finds fiscal consolidation conducted through a revenue increase, rather than a spending cut, is ‘self-defeating austerity’