Central Banking
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Conditions ‘in place’ for repo expansion in East Asia and Pacific
Report published by central bankers in the Asia-Pacific region finds that repo markets are ‘not as large as might be expected’, but conditions are in place for them to grow
Carney urged to help end masking of swap counterparties
'Ambitious but realistic' deadline could be set for banks to stop hiding counterparty details – the industry’s response to a conflict between privacy and reporting rules
Israeli officials look to remove obstacles to securitisation
Joint team of financial regulators renew efforts to promote securitisation; former deputy governor Zvi Eckstein backs proposed legislative changes
Sri Lankan central bank to spend $760,000 lobbying in US
Central bank hires US company to lobby politicians and businesses in effort to prevent ‘adverse publicity’ eroding investor confidence and undermining economic stability
Botswana's banking sector grew in 2013
Entry of two Indian banks took the number operating there to 13; greater use of technology plus more branches and ATMs improved access to finance
The ‘Great Moderation' shows no sign of ending, Spanish paper finds
The great recession did not mark an end to the great moderation whose low volatility could be hampering a recovery, according to a new paper
Polish policy-makers sceptical over major central banks' monetary policy
Minutes from the latest meeting of the Polish monetary policy council reveal doubts that QE and ultra-low rates have had the desired effect
Bosnia's central bank opens new premises in Banja Luka
Main Serbian branch of Bosnia's central bank moves to new purpose-built premises, as its old building provided ‘inadequate' conditions for its 43 staff
ECB designates four 'systemic' payments systems subject to new regulatory standards
European Central Bank identifies four payment systems as systemically important, which will now be governed by stricter oversight standards that entered into force last week
ECB economists design early-warning guide to trigger macro-prudential intervention
Working paper isolates key indicators to tell policy-makers when to use macro-prudential measures, and which ones to use
Monetarist view cannot explain eurozone inflation woes, Nobel laureate warns
Christopher Sims says lack of co-ordinated fiscal action dooms eurozone to prolonged lowflation, at German conference for economics Nobel prize winners
Central Bank of Nigeria defends reintroduction of fees on ATM withdrawals
Bank says reintroduction of fee will hinder abuse of expensive ATMs and promote its cash-less policy; fee was abolished in 2012 to encourage use of ATMs
Rwandan central bank sees inflation and interest rates drop in H1
Semi-annual financial stability statement finds reasons to be cheerful as inflation comes in below target and market rates fall, in line with monetary policy
FOMC members ‘increasingly uncomfortable' with Fed's forward guidance
Members are interpreting recent economic upturn very differently, new minutes show; views differ on how to communicate labour market improvements to the public
Riksbank's first deputy calls for macro-prudential measures that directly limit household debt
Kerstin af Jochnick suggests amortisation requirements and ‘review of tax deductions for interest paid' in Stockholm speech
Irish economists estimate property debt overhang on SMEs
Central Bank of Ireland researchers find a minimum of 20% of SMEs have direct exposures to property debt, which makes them more likely to default
One in 10 eurozone households spend more than they earn, Bundesbank paper finds
Households with female, young, or divorced heads have harder time making ends meet, but ‘rather confident in the possibility to get funded through informal lending channels'
Norway SWF manager doubles leadership team
Norges Bank Investment Management sets up separate ‘leader group' for real estate investments; wealth fund returns 3.3% ($31 billion) in second quarter
IMF researchers say CCBs ‘show less promise’ than other macro-prudential tools
Working paper finds counter-cyclical capital buffers are less effective than measures aimed at banks’ assets and liabilities in reducing the rate of asset growth on their balance sheets
Glenn Stevens calls on ‘animal spirits’ to drive Australian economy
Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia calls on businesses large and small to invest in new areas outside of the mining sector, suggesting that monetary policy has done its bit for the economy
Angola SWF to send students to Switzerland as it ‘invests in investing'
Petroleum fund will pay for bright young Angolans to study investment in Zurich; move follows advice from abroad that investment capacity should be built up
Bank of England MPC sees first dissent since 2011
McCafferty and Weale vote to raise interest rates, minutes show, as conflicting labour market developments split committee's view on UK spare capacity
Portfolio flows to emerging markets make asset prices volatile - IMF paper
Working paper unpicks domestic pull factors versus global push factors, finding the latter more powerful in determining portfolio flows