Central Banking
Bank of Japan ramps up efforts to prepare infrastructure for disaster
Central bank calls for examinations of business continuity plans, learning from the 2011 earthquake, in rare report on payments landscape; BOJ-NET extends operating time
Riksbank flags concerns over pace of development in payments
Tech development proceeding ‘too rapidly’, says central bank; evolution of payments could jeopardise access
Banks start to clean up balance sheets after RBI asset quality review
Efforts will enable flow of credit in the long term, deputy says; improving capital buffers and governance structures also beneficial
Equities support Danish central bank's profits in 2015
Move into riskier assets contributes to profits in 2015, in addition to significant returns from defending the krone; costs are also on the rise following major IT project
San Marino’s new central bank chief faces NPL challenge
Staff at IMF stress need for “comprehensive strategy” to clean up balance sheets in the banking sector; Wafik Grais takes office as chairman of the central bank after prolonged vacancy
Slovenia report simulates effects of structural reforms
Report by local institute, in co-operation with the central bank and OECD, argues the time is “ripe” for structural reform in Slovenia; suggests long-term benefits outweigh short-term costs
PBoC and MAS extend $46bn swap line
Renewal of currency arrangement follows deepening of cross-border integration measures introduced last year
IMF paper examines effect of ‘winning the oil lottery’
Research into the impact of oil discovery in certain municipalities in Brazil shows GDP per capita and urbanisation on the rise
Romanian government policies may put financial stability at risk, IMF and EC staff say
European Commission and IMF staff raise concerns over some measures, including draft laws on loans and debt clearance; IMF staff suggest the central bank adopts a “tightening bias”
Bangladesh governor resigns over theft
Atiur Rahman has resigned after $101 million was stolen from the central bank’s account at the New York Fed; finance minister announces Fazle Kabir as successor
Zimbabwe central bank calls for flexibility on SME credit
Number of areas still at risk from financial exclusion; only 14% of MSME owners were banked, and only 1% of the adult population used capital market services in 2014
Stressed governments persuade banks to increase bond buying, paper finds
European governments under fiscal stress persuaded domestic banks to increase their holdings of sovereign debt, a paper from The Netherlands Bank finds
BoJ spells out operational details for negative rates
Policy board will review exemptions from negative interest rate every three months; banks given new incentive to borrow from the central bank under its targeted programmes
Central Banking Awards 2016: Banknote and currency services provider of the year
Ahead of the third annual Central Banking awards evening, Central Banking Journal met with Peter Muehlfelder, head of business area security at Kurz, to discuss the areas of business that have contributed to their award success and their company's…
Research sheds light on RBNZ concerns over inflation expectations
Article authored by, among others, John McDermott argues the risk of inflation expectations losing their anchor has increased; concerns were a ‘primary motive’ for last week’s rate cut
Rajan offers solution to global policy spillovers
RBI governor sketches rating system designed to hold central banks to account; frank discussion may be enough, he says, but tougher rules in the style of Bretton Woods are also an option
Flug outlines state of play on Israeli credit information database
Governor says new database established and operated by Bank of Israel will strike a balance between being comprehensive and relevant; key appointments to follow
Zeti stresses need to protect independence when central banks get broad mandates
Central banks in emerging economies often find themselves tackling difficult reforms as they are best equipped for the challenge, she says, but this can only work if certain conditions hold
Macro-prudential policy must give guidance on how to deleverage, paper says
Different deleveraging methods have varying effects on the economy, ECB working paper finds; policy-makers must give banks concrete guidance on how they implement certain measures
Basel disclosure proposals add ‘dashboard’ of risk metrics
Fresh proposals on Basel III disclosure aim to simplify comparison of banks’ prudential positions; banks will also have to disclose “benchmark” risk weights based on standardised approach
Bank of Russia obliges non-banks to join officially recognised self-regulatory bodies
All non-bank financial institutions in Russia must join one of seven officially recognised self-regulatory organisations; newly formed companies must comply within 180 days
‘Compositional’ drag on wages set to fade, BoE article finds
Labour force composition has changed markedly in recent years, putting downward pressure on wages, but recent data implies the effect may soon dissipate, researchers say
RBNZ keeps settlement system due to lack of suitable bids
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand will retain its securities settlement system and depository, despite hoping to find it a new owner; also investing in separate platforms for NZClear and Esas