Central Banking
People: Madigan returns to Fed board; FCA appoints retail supervisory head
Brian Madigan returns to the Federal Reserve Board as FOMC secretary; Financial Conduct Authority names Jonathan Davidson director of supervision, retail and authorisations; and more
Greece set to request new ESM bailout
Greece expected to submit new proposal to ESM in effort to unlock bailout funds; ECB appears to increase haircuts on collateral used by Greek banks to obtain emergency liquidity
IMF staff call on US to develop new macro-prudential tools
Assessment says tools that strengthen market resilience to run risks and fire sales in shadow banking sector should be a high priority; staff report recommends 2016 rate hike
Iceland’s Guðmundsson plans post-capital controls monetary redesign
‘Inflation targeting plus plus’ would help the small, open economy to pursue independent monetary policy, insulated from violent capital flows, the Icelandic governor tells Central Banking
World Bank plans to put 'de-risking' on the global agenda
Banks are reportedly shutting down the accounts of customers in 'high-risk' category; the World Bank has begun work on the problem
Richmond Fed paper examines relationship between deregulation and innovation
Working paper uses a dynamic equilibrium model to look at ATM and debit card industry in US; offers generalised findings on relationship across financial services industry
European leaders to meet as Greeks scramble to produce new proposals
Heads of state and finance ministers to meet on July 7, with Greek government expected to present new proposals; chief negotiator takes over as finance minister
Austrian central bank will shut NY office in savings drive
National Bank of Austria expects to cut expenses by €96 million in the next five years as part of ‘optimisation’ project; New York office and branches in Graz and Linz will close by 2018
Central banks expect South American inflation to stabilise
Inflation rising in several countries in South America, but central bank heads in region suggest it will ‘moderate’ when supply shocks dissipate and exchange rates normalise
Czech board expects strong growth showing
Board members at the Czech National Bank caught off guard by strong growth in first quarter, minutes show, but expect stronger-than-forecasted growth for rest of year
Solomon Islands increases flexibility of currency
Annual report reveals Central Bank of Solomon Islands scrapped its policy of restricting the movement of its currency against the US dollar on any given day, but retained peg against basket
Varoufakis out as Greeks vote No
Greek finance minister steps down despite 62.5% of voters backing the government’s position by rejecting the latest proposals; Eurogroup says ball in Greece’s court
Funds escape yo-yo effect as CFTC redefines US person
Scrapping of test means investor status will not tip offshore funds into Dodd-Frank regime
Philadelphia Fed paper highlights bounce-back in credit card spending
Discussion paper analyses data from Visa Payment Panel Study, finding credit card spending has recovered from a recession-related dip, while growth in debit card spending is slowing
Competing theories explain drop in China’s reserves
Holdings fall $110 billion in Q1 as domestic investors look abroad and the PBoC defends the exchange rate; some analysts say ECB quantitative easing is probably the real villain
Azerbaijan SWF looks to Chinese equities after foray into renminbi
The State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan is ‘planning to gain exposure to Chinese equity markets’ after successfully investing in yuan-denominated instruments
Swedish authorities pin down structural factors driving growth in household debt
The rise in home ownership and a favourable tax system are probably contributing to the growth in household indebtedness, report finds, as Riksbank continues to urge action
Constâncio supports guided stress tests of shadow banks
ECB vice-president continues his campaign for new macro-prudential tools that can impact non-bank institutions, highlighting the importance of developing a ‘clearer picture’ of the sector
IMF senior counsel explores legal frameworks for public debt management
Senior counsel at IMF’s legal department discusses the many trade-offs involved in designing the legal frameworks underpinning public debt management
IMF analysis calls for Greek debt relief
Analysis encourages European lenders to double grace and maturity periods on existing loans while providing two-thirds of another €52 billion in financing to keep Greece afloat
Eurozone central bank policy challenges and risks
ECB governing council member Ignazio Visco explains why Europe needed an expanded asset purchase programme despite potential issues associated with moral hazard and financial instability
Minutes show ECB happy to ‘look through’ volatility
Governing council carefully considered market volatility including the increase in government bond yields in June meeting, concluding it had not ‘materially altered’ economic outlook
Albanian governor warns of ‘fragile’ inflation
Gent Sejko says supervisory council will likely keep key interest rate low ‘for some quarters ahead’ with inflation forecast to remain below target in 2015
SNB paper: both monetary and macro-prudential policy impact arrears
Working paper suggests monetary policy impacts the affordability problems that drive arrears in the short term, while macro-prudential policy can help prevent longer-term problems