Central Banking
ECB to help prepare Central Bank of Montenegro for EU
Co-operation programme aims to help the institution meet regional and international standards; EU will provide €300,000 in funding
CPMI report reviews the ‘growing involvement’ of non-banks in retail payments
Working group chaired by Reserve Bank of India’s Padmanabhan says the presence of non-banks in payments raises 'level playing field issues' for central banks to consider
Buba's Buch calls for ‘clear-cut inclusion’ of CEE in banking union
Bundesbank vice-president highlights room for improvement in supervisory framework; concerned about integration of banking markets across Europe
BoJ focused on ‘underlying trend of prices’
The Bank of Japan kept policy steady in August; minutes from policy board meeting reveal members’ discussion about importance of using a range of price indicators
Bank of Albania board calls for governor to be sacked
Supervisory council gives ‘full support' to first deputy following arrest of governor Ardian Fullani, believed to be linked to central bank vault theft uncovered in July
Jean-Pierre Danthine will retire from SNB in June
Swiss National Bank vice-chairman will retire in June 2015; the nomination committee is already on the hunt for a replacement
New York Fed report reviews risk-return trade-off between financial conditions and financial stability
Paper focuses on vulnerabilities affecting trade-off, including pricing of risk and leverage; discusses how macro-pru policies can counteract vulnerabilities
ECB appoints supervisory heavyweights to new review board
Governing council appoints five members to board, tasked with conducting reviews into ECB’s supervisory actions, including former central bankers from France, Germany, Italy and Spain
De La Rue ‘preferred bidder' for next Bank of England printing deal
UK printer expected to sign contract with central bank next month and start producing new notes in April; BoE hired Innovia Security to supply polymer substrate in March
Rwandan paper maps out path to financial inclusion
National Bank of Rwanda vice-governor says ‘meaningful’ financial inclusion is measured by constant usage, which ‘lags behind access in most of the cases'
Tetangco targets ‘distinct brand’ for Philippines banking
Central bank governor singles out risk management, corporate governance and consumer protection as the ‘fundamental aspects’ of the Philippines’ brand of banking
Uzbek central bank launches mobile app to meet ‘growing needs’ of online audience
Users can view specimens of banknotes and coins and check the latest exchange rates; central bank expects it to be ‘popular’ among 3,000 people who visit website each day
Dallas Fed president praises India PM Modi
Richard Fisher describes Texas as the ‘crucible of US job creation', noting that without it US would not yet have reached pre-recession employment levels
Higher capital requirements lead to lower lending, study by Calomiris finds
Paper published today by the Bank of England finds ‘little evidence of interaction' between monetary policy and capital requirements; studies their impact on bank lending
Colombian working paper examines credit cycles in EMs
Researchers argue that central banks in emerging markets should focus on medium-term credit cycles when designing macro-prudential policy
Timor-Leste central bank green lights mobile money pilot
Initiative will allow users to execute payments, transfers and withdrawals through mobile phones, and follows the introduction of a ‘master plan’ for financial sector development
Kenyan governor points to financial inclusion success
Njuguna Ndung’u sees ‘bright’ future for Kenya’s financial system; points to growing financial inclusion and successful issuance of eurobond in international market
MAS seeks to widen retail access to Singapore bond market
Singapore’s central bank proposes a host of regulatory changes to ‘make it easier’ for retail investors to buy corporate bonds
Bank of England sets out rules for foreign bank branches
Branches lacking credible resolution plans could have their licences revoked, bank warns; insurance executive joins Prudential Regulation Authority board
Argentina’s central bank lowers cap on commercial bank dollar holdings
The objective is to improve the ‘market conditions’ of the economy, says a central bank official, but Steve Hanke argues it is a measure to prevent the dollarisation of the country
Dutch payments forum looking to ‘speed-up’ transfers
Frank Elderson hopes the forum’s plan will ‘spark real-time payment transfers’, noting this would require a ‘comprehensive renewal’ of market infrastructure
RBA governor says bank's ‘boring' monetary policy stance a success
Glenn Stevens notes external ‘search for yield' is bidding up real asset prices in Australia; most observers expect interest rates to remain low ‘for some time yet'
Final liquidity rules issued for biggest US banks
‘More stringent' liquidity coverage ratio will come into effect in January 2017; Fed adopts final rule on supplementary leverage ratio, asks for input on swap margin rules
ECB cuts rates and launches asset purchases
Central bank cuts refinance rate to 0.05% and deposit rate to -0.2%; Draghi unveils plans to buy asset-backed securities and covered bonds