Central Banking
BoE MPC moving towards rate hike, minutes hint
MPC voted unanimously for a rate hold, but ‘a number of members’ believe risks to inflation are becoming ‘skewed to the upside’; appreciation of sterling and global shocks could still delay hike
Commodity trading advisers unmoved by liquidity concerns
The biggest liquidity snags for CTAs are in placing large orders - something which AHL and ISAM say impacts them little
EBA report identifies issues stemming from use of macro-prudential tools to date
Survey of European use of macro-prudential tools to date reveals problems of overlaps and double counting, interaction with micro tools and bewildering diversity
Dutch paper compares measures of systemic risk with market perceptions
Working paper notes the need for ‘careful consideration’ of the impact of prudential policies on both bank risk and systemic risk
UK government launches plan to improve BoE governance
Bank of England Bill proposes changes to committee structure, adjustments to the Court, establishing new roles and axing old ones, and audits to assess value for money
RBA’s Stevens wants reforms framed as positive narrative
Glenn Stevens argues the average citizen cares about economic potential, and reforms should be presented ‘as a positive narrative’ for growth
IMF calls on East African Community to explore risk-sharing
Paper explores the nature and prevalence of asymmetric shocks in the EAC, concluding it is ‘critical’ it has shared mechanisms for absorbing them when its members form a monetary union
Apra toughens mortgage risk weights for Australian banks
Australian regulator's move to end era of low home loan risk weights helps push banks toward top quartile for capital ratio
Obama nominates Michigan professor to Fed board of governors
Obama picks Kathryn Dominguez, a top academic from the University of Michigan, to fill the second of two vacancies on the board of governors
Kuroda flags three traps Asia should avoid
BoJ governor points to three traps that threaten growth in Asia and says boosting productivity is the best way to avoid becoming ensnared
IMF paper: commodity prices are largely demand-driven
Working paper explores systemic risk, aggregate demand and commodity prices, finding the latter to be largely demand-driven, a conclusion they extend to non-core inflation
ECB raises concerns over Greece’s draft resolution law
Hastily assembled legal opinion on draft law warns of possible detrimental effects on the Bank of Greece, including impact on independence, increased liability and ‘operational burden’
Italian paper explores wage and unemployment relationship
Occasional paper stresses the choice of measures for the change in wage rates has ‘important consequences for the results’
RBNZ proposes measures to boost regulatory efficiency
Consultation following ‘regulatory stocktake’ proposes refinements aimed at cutting unnecessary costs resulting from regulatory expansion in past decade
Ukraine central bank donates armoured cars to military
National Bank of Ukraine hands 90 vehicles to military, more than half of which are armoured cars previously used to transport cash, as part of project to dispose of ‘non-core assets’
Greece uses bridge loan to repay IMF and ECB
Loan received today used immediately to repay debts, while government works to unlock full bailout; Ben Bernanke joins debate with criticism of German trade surplus
Bundesbank paper tracks causes of financial crisis balance sheet contraction
Working paper identifies characteristics and behaviour that had a dampening effect on German banks during the 2008 crisis, noting the importance of taking a nuanced view
IMF paper offers advice on Asian financial integration
Authors suggest improvements to the sharing of information, trade integration, capital market development and a common regulatory framework to improve financial integration in Asia
Hungarian deputy quits to head commercial bank
Ádám Balog will leave his post on July 22 to become chair and CEO of MKB Bank; joined central bank in March 2013 alongside governor György Matolcsy
RBI deputy says securitisation market is ‘raring to go’
R Gandhi dismisses concerns that Indian regulation of securitisations is too heavy handed, saying there are plenty of opportunities if firms are willing to seize them
Obstfeld will succeed Blanchard at IMF
Lagarde praises the ‘outstanding academic credentials’ of Obstfeld as she announces his appointment as economic counsellor and director of research
BIS annual report launches new line of attack on old fears
Analysis of financial cycles creates a new opportunity to drive home fears about rates being too low for too long – but are central banks listening?
First cross-border repo executed in Chinese bond market
ICBC's Singapore branch raises 200 million yuan on China's interbank bond market in first deal since PBoC scrapped limits on offshore access to $5.7tn market earlier this year
CCPs urged to implement liquidity risk charge
Quant Congress USA: liquidity charge might have exposed London Whale, academic claims