Central Banking
RBA’s Ellis is grateful lending standards to first-time buyers have not eased
Head of financial stability tells standing committee the prevalence of investors in the housing market could be pricing aspiring first-time buyers out of a move, but only ‘at the margin’
Bangladesh Bank will oversee creation of $500 million fund
World Bank and Bangladesh Bank putting up the money to finance longer-term projects in the economy, with some cash ring-fenced for ‘greening initiatives’
Nigeria bans foreign currency cash deposits
Central bank move comes as part of a clampdown on ‘illicit funds’ passing through banks; follows a series of measures aimed at stabilising exchange rate
BoE’s McCafferty breaks ranks in first new-style monetary policy meeting
BoE holds first monetary policy meeting under new setup and launches new format for policy communications, including inflation report redesign
Ruble plummets on Fed rate hike expectations
As speculation on the timing of a Fed rate hike heats up, emerging market currencies are tumbling
Bundesbank’s Buch casts doubt on Greek debt relief as talks end
Deputy president takes stance at loggerheads with IMF as latest round of negotiations draws to a close; Greek finance minister strikes upbeat note
Norges Bank paper outlines forecasting method for big data
Researchers aim to forecast US stock market and economy using a Bayesian non-parametric model, with a dataset large enough that computing power becomes a problem
Market expectations respond to contractionary shocks, Chilean paper argues
Monetary expectations in major eurozone economies are responsive to contractionary shocks but not expansionary ones, a paper published by the Chilean central bank argues
Hungarian council reflects on gradual pace of rate cuts
Several council members suggest the Central Bank of Hungary was able to make a series of ‘cautious reductions’ in the interest rate because it had gained credibility
Bank of Central African States floats novel way of pooling reserves
IMF urges member states in Central African Economic and Monetary Community to comply with requirement to pool FX reserves and earnings; BEAC proposes new method for achieving this
IMF leaves door open to renminbi inclusion in SDR basket
Report says renminbi is lagging behind the four currencies in the current basket, but decision is still wide open; IMF also considering extending existing arrangement by nine months
Singapore MD imagines gleaming future for island state
Ravi Menon delivers a speech looking back from an imagined 2065, highlighting the potential of both Singapore and the wider South-east Asian economy
IMF paper warns Japan’s QQE may hit the buffers in 2017
Bank of Japan may have to look for new forms of monetary stimulus as it runs up against a shortage of government bonds, which could begin to distort markets
UK payments regulator evaluates efforts to improve access
Banks and payment systems now expected to be more transparent about criteria for access; regulator says this is now bearing fruit, but the real tests are yet to come
Stevens says RBA is working to ‘assess and contain’ housing risks
Statement following decision to hold rates notes house prices rising ‘strongly’ in Sydney, although growth is uneven between regions; other assets also buoyed by low rate environment
Fresh delay will push EU-US CCP row into September
Decision had been expected in July; dealers sceptical new timeline will hold
Fed’s Powell weighs factors behind market-making evolution
Governor notes regulation is a contributing factor but not a dominant one, explaining the evolution of market-making; technology and participant behaviour both important
BIS paper captures financial shock using five DSGE models
Authors from the Federal Reserve find even models with a common core produce very different estimates of the spillovers of a financial shock to the real economy
RBI and government reach ‘broad consensus’ on MPC
Raghuram Rajan says the central bank and government have found common ground on the shape of the monetary policy committee; RBI holds rates and nudges down inflation forecast
Libor rigger Hayes jailed for 14 years
Tom Hayes found guilty of manipulating Libor while at UBS and Citi
Israel grapples with high house prices and low inflation
Monetary policy report flags concerns by committee members that low interest rates may be fuelling high and rising house prices, but overall the risks to inflation are seen as more severe
Argentine economists offer alternative to DSGE model on macro and financial interactions
BIS working paper sets out a structural model augmented with a financial sector, which the authors say is more practical in many ways than DSGE models
RBI deputy says big data crucial for banks learning more about customers
Harun Khan warns harnessing big data presents challenges to banks, but it offers a way of achieving a ‘significant competitive advantage’, at seminar on information technology
Moroccan governor calls for ‘shock therapy’ in education
Abdellatif Jouahri warns there is a ‘worrisome’ gap between ambitions and tangible achievements in the field of education and training, in central bank’s annual report for 2014