Central Banking
People: Uzbekistan appoints new deputy; Ahmed retiring from IMF
Shohruh Shoahmedov promoted to deputy chairman; IMF’s Masood Ahmed announces retirement; BoE’s Paul Fisher to chair London Bullion Market Association
Bank of Israel opens payment protocol to smaller players
Central bank removes obstacle to new firms looking to enter payments market; also working on ‘payment systems directive’ based on European model and new access standards
BoE’s Weale sees demand weakening more than supply
Martin Weale thinks short-term impact of UK vote more likely to drag on inflation than boost it; will also weigh impact of exchange rate movements and earnings developments in August meeting
Rajan sees bright future on inclusion but stresses work to be done
Outgoing governor of the Reserve Bank of India discusses different approaches open to policy-makers and some common challenges; unified payment interface effective in a ‘few weeks’
Credit, liquidity and collateral versus more intermediation
Richard Heckinger examines the costs and benefits of complex financial market infrastructure regulations, including the impact of new layers of intermediation
ECB publishes guide to its macroeconomic projections
European Central Bank publishes guide to how its staff research and publish their regular projections for the eurozone economy; gives details of models and tools used
Atlanta Fed president wants to ‘let the picture clarify’
Dennis Lockhart likens the UK’s vote to leave the EU to a storm that has “clouded the economic waters”; the Fed must be patient in the aftermath, he says
Indian central bank sets up fintech working group
Inter-agency working group will report on financial technology within six months of first meeting to enable Indian authorities to review regulation of sector
Payments forum moots ‘layered’ architecture in UK
New layered strategy would help improve agility of payments infrastructure, consultation suggests; trade association says changes will need to be implemented in line with regulation
EBA says European banking supervision practices are converging but some areas lag
European banking supervisors achieved considerable cross-border convergence in some areas in 2015, but other fields retain differences, EBA report says
East African governors praised for balancing act
Central bank heads in region have “done extremely well”, Kaberuka says; panellists at Bank of Uganda event debate central bank mandates and role in development
RBNZ can evaluate forecasts using benchmarks – McDermott
Inflation has been weaker and the NZ dollar stronger than the central bank forecast, assistant governor says; can gain insight from comparing its forecast with others
Shirai urges BoJ to change course
Former policy board member says the Bank of Japan’s current policies are not sustainable, recommending a rethink of policy mix and communication strategy
Bank of Canada sees ‘modest effect’ from Brexit
Canadian and US central bankers size up cost of UK’s vote to leave the EU; Carolyn Wilkins and Patrick Harker do not see large impact on growth from direct trade effects
Short-sale disclosure rules can distort securities prices, Bundesbank paper says
European Union transparency conditions may have led to distortions in the prices of German securities by deterring short-sellers, discussion paper argues
Slovenian finance minister criticises police raid on central bank before resigning
Slovenian finance minister describes police raid on central bank on July 12 as an "attack" then resigns on July 13 citing personal reasons; central bank also criticises action
Research explores lifting fingerprints from polymer notes
Team of scientists trial technique to ‘lift’ fingerprint from polymer surface; stress suitability of elemental copper for use in forensic examinations
MAS official stresses role of technology in combating ML/TF risks
Chua Kim Leng singles out four areas of focus for insurers looking to combat illicit financing activities; one is leveraging technology, such as automated name screening and data analytics
‘Still some flaws’ in transmission mechanism – Icelandic report
Monetary policy report says capital flow measures have not yet had as much of an impact as intended, with the yield curve stubbornly staying flat
BoE holds but MPC expects August easing
Pound appreciates as monetary policy committee votes 8:1 to leave rates at 0.5%; "most" committee members expect monetary stimulus in August
Bank of Tokyo abandons JGB primary dealer role
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ steps back from role citing “business optimisation”, in the latest sign the Bank of Japan’s policy is putting the squeeze on bank profits
MAS’s Menon urges careful calibration of Basel III
Managing director warns against raising capital requirements further for fear of damaging growth; says final calibration must keep SME and trade finance in mind
Dombret sees no need for ECB response to UK vote
Deutsche Bundesbank’s Andreas Dombret says it is not clear to what extent further easing would boost economy; warns against deeper European integration at any cost
Bangladesh has more FX reserves than it needs, chief economist says
Biru Paksha Paul says Bangladesh only needs enough reserve to cover six months’ worth of imports, and it has now exceeded that; sees benefits from low fuel prices in recent years