Central Banking
Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect to go live next week
Securities regulators unveil final launch date after delays upset markets last month; scheme will allow direct trading of Chinese and Hong Kong stocks within certain limits
Ruble rebounds as Bank of Russia lets currency float
Central bank abandons exchange rate regime after ruble weakens 45% against dollar in five months, says decision will lead to ‘faster adjustment of economy to external changes'
People: Mark Carney reappointed as FSB chair; Bank of Portugal names new head of supervision
Governor of Bank of England gets second term as chair of the Financial Stability Board; Bank of Portugal appoints three new people in banking prudential supervision department; and more
BoJ paper finds US crisis policy more impactful on markets than European measures
Authors test policy responses to the global financial crisis including monetary, liquidity and financial sector policies, finding US announcements led to higher abnormal returns
Malaysian deputy backs ‘constructive ambiguity’ in comms
Muhammad bin Ibrahim says less might be more when it comes to communicating macro-prudential policy; Bank Negara Malaysia allows for some ‘constructive ambiguity’
Powell says ‘good deal more’ needs to be done on CCPs
Fed governor Jerome Powell stresses the need for international coordination to ensure that reforms on the central clearing of OTC derivatives live up to their promise
Lagarde approves of BoJ’s ‘brave’ decision to launch more QE
IMF managing director describes ramping up of asset purchases as ‘perfectly legitimate’ and ‘brave’ on high-level panel in Paris; Yellen, Coeuré, Rajan and Carstens also feature
ESRB report studies allocation of macro-prudential powers
Report from advisory scientific committee says coordinating monetary and macro-prudential policies is easier if the powers sit within a single institution, often the central bank
Cleveland Fed president sees forward guidance evolving in normal times
Loretta Mester suggests it will focus less on when policy will be changed and ‘more on the rationale for policy decisions’; sees FOMC summary of economic projections playing ‘central role’
Hélène Rey warns advanced economies are not safe from US spillovers
Leading economist says spillovers from US monetary policy affect both advanced economies and emerging markets, weakening domestic policy; NY Fed's Bill Dudley responds
BlackRock chairman warns Carney over low rate environment
Laurence Fink tells senior central bankers at Banque de France symposium that private institutions could ‘refuse to lend’ if rates remain low; Carney questions claim
FSB sees flaws in OTC derivatives reforms
Despite greater clarity emerging from the range of regulatory initiatives, there are still considerable differences in implementation between jurisdictions
Malaysian deputy says Islamic banking has inclusion role to play
Muhammad bin Ibrahim highlights potential of Islamic banking products to improve financial inclusion, by channelling funds directly to small businesses
Kyrgyz Republic marshals journalists in financial literacy push
National Bank spokeswoman says central bank is taking the lead with broad communication strategy while government finalises plans; journalists seen as ‘effective information transfer tool’
ECB publishes letters between Trichet and Irish government
Letters relate to the period leading up to Ireland’s decision to enter an EU/IMF programme; ECB threatened to withhold access to ELA unless Ireland sought a bailout
UK launches probe into banking sector competition
Investigation will assess whether retail banking market is too concentrated, with barriers to entry and opacity under scrutiny
Central Bank of Kuwait highlights improving banking sector health
Banking sector saw improvements on ‘almost all fronts’ as Islamic banking continued to rise, according to annual financial stability report; income and return on equity see drop
Draghi dismisses reports of ECB rift
ECB president says it is ‘fairly normal to disagree about things’ and points to divisions on FOMC; earlier reports had raised questions over Draghi’s leadership style
ECB staff told to prepare for further measures
ECB keeps monetary policy stance unchanged; governing council tells staff to ensure the ‘timely preparation' of unspecified 'further measures’ to be implemented ‘if needed’
MAS chief sees SWFs struggling with secular stagnation
Ravi Menon urges sovereign wealth funds to move beyond traditional asset classes to tackle diminishing returns
BoJ team surveys payment innovation landscape
Central bank lays ground for retail payments innovation in Japan with survey of what has been tried elsewhere; highlights different forces driving change in each country
Kocherlakota wants FOMC to stress target symmetry
Minneapolis Fed president wants FOMC to clarify inflation objective; also calls for adoption of benchmark two-year time horizon for returning inflation to target
Poland bucks expectations and EU trend with rate hold
National Bank of Poland holds key rate at 2.5% despite widespread expectations of a cut, stoked in part by the National Bank of Romania's easing policy yesterday
Ingves: Consistent implementation needed to bring about ‘full benefits' of Basel III
Basel Committee chair says regulators and supervisors now 'accountable for the outcomes' of Basel III as reform agenda draws to a close