Central Banking
Icelandic research proposes new measure of core inflation
‘Dynamic factor measure' outperforms current core measures in terms of matching the mean of CPI inflation while having lower volatility, argues author
PBoC closes in on liberalisation with deposit insurance plan
Central bank moves closer to deposit rate liberalisation with proposals for deposit insurance fund, aiming to improve ‘discipline’ in banking sector and encourage smaller banks to compete
Swiss public reject gold initiative
Referendum sees 77.3% of vote against forcing the SNB to hold 20% of its assets in gold, and prevent it from ever selling them; central bank welcomes the result
BoE researchers posit dual model of interbank markets
Working paper separates exposures from funding to show the two parts of the interbank market have different structures; large ‘core’ banks present contagion risk
Lautenschläger against QE for now
Executive board member says the costs outweigh the benefits ‘at this current time’ and raises a host of questions to consider before the ECB can start buying government bonds
BoE paper says loan fair value techniques come with 'health warnings'
Researchers say it is unlikely that any one technique will capture all relevant aspects of valuation across all types of bank loans
ECB statistics chief calls for greater co-operation on data reporting
Aurel Schubert says crisis exposed bank's traditional aggregated statistics as ‘insufficient for comprehensive analysis'; new approach needs to avoid double reporting
Central Bank of Brazil will not be ‘complacent' with inflation, says governor
Governor Alexandre Tombini offers reassurances the Central Bank of Brazil is working to keep inflation ‘under control’ with annual CPI growth steady around 6.5%
ECB paper uses financial conditions indices to help predict growth developments
Working paper presents indices for three industrialised and five emerging economies; authors say they are a potential leading indicator for eurozone external environment
Swiss National Bank relocates staff in Berne office renovation
Around 120 staff at the Swiss National Bank will be relocated to rented office space for three years, as the central bank’s Berne office is renovated
ECB research explores use of NSFR as macro-pru tool
Economists consider how the net stable funding ratio could be used to tackle the build-up of systemic liquidity risks; research is still at an early stage
People: BoE poaches IMF researcher; Nigeria's central bank deputy stands down
Michael Kumhof leaves the IMF to join the Bank of England as senior research advisor; Kingsley Moghalu leaves the Central Bank of Nigeria after five years; and more
Central Bank of Ireland plans staff increase
Governor Patrick Honohan says creation of SSM and new international regulations create ‘more work’ for the central bank; staff will increase by roughly 100 in 2015
Bank of Finland paper sees inefficiencies driving China’s internet finance
Boom in internet finance presents stability risks and appears to be the result of inefficiencies in the existing financial system; authors recommend market-based reforms to redress the balance
Richmond Fed economist sees obstacles to Islamic finance in the US
Islamic finance in the US suffers from poor liquidity and problems meshing with the regulatory environment, researcher says
New payments regulator in UK may have uneasy relationship with BoE
Treasury committee highlights potential for conflicting objectives between newly formed payments regulator and the Bank of England; Tyrie says independence ‘pretty heavily circumscribed’
Lower liquidity has impeded Swedish markets, central bank survey shows
The Swedish markets are functioning 'slightly less well' than six months ago and will deteriorate further, a risk survey conducted by Sveriges Riksbank finds
Malaysian banks will use cheque fees to incentivise electronic payments
To reduce the use of cash and cheques in the financial system, Bank Negara Malaysia is introducing a scheme whereby cheque fees will be used to incentivise e-payments
ECB fears ‘abrupt reversal’ of global search for yield
Central bank says an end to the hunt for yield is the main threat to financial stability in the eurozone; Constâncio concerned by impact on investors’ balance sheets
Ukraine gets new deputy in leadership reshuffle
Vladyslav Rashkovan promoted to acting deputy governor after just seven months at the central bank; board membership expanded to include head of personnel
Money-inflation link shows signs of breaking down - Bundesbank paper
Researchers present evidence that money growth and inflation are losing synchronicity in the medium- to long-run, although the relationship still holds in the very long-run
Linde says Bank of Spain retains ‘important role’ in SSM
Bank of Spain governor says national central banks will play a vital role in the conduct of banking supervision under the new system
Central banks weighing the benefits of bitcoin
Digital or ‘crypto’ currencies are controversial among central banks, but some see merits in their use and a few may even issue their own; more digital currency innovation likely in future
Constâncio wants to ‘broaden’ European macro-prudential toolkit
ECB vice-president wants a broader macro-prudential toolkit to help smooth the financial cycle, including new instruments for the shadow banking sector