Central Banking
Solomon Islands ‘still adjusting’ to new central bank legislation
Board aiming to achieve one of the lowest inflation rates in region under new price stability mandate; central bank turns to government for recapitalisation after forex losses
Caruana defends role of interest rates in ‘leaning against' financial cycles
Interest rate rises have a role to play in discouraging excessive borrowing, BIS managing director Jaime Caruana tells National Bank of Bulgaria conference
‘Shadow policy rate' measures Fed monetary policy stance at ZLB
BIS working paper describes a shadow policy rate constructed from a number of variables reflecting monetary policy actions to divine the Fed's stance at the zero lower bound
BoE's Sharp: new shocks around the corner 'perfectly conceivable'
Richard Sharp says UK financial system's openness means unpredictable external events can have 'profound effect' on financial stability
New Nigeria governor Emefiele to target unemployment and lending to 'key sectors'
New governor says bank ‘cannot sit idly by and concentrate only on price stability' at first press conference; unemployment rate to play key role in monetary policy decisions
Central African central bank needs liquidity management overhaul, IMF says
IMF's annual mission to the Central African Monetary and Economic Community called for improved operations at the central bank and reform of government securities markets
ECB set to flood banks with cash as deposit rate turns negative
European Central Bank cuts main rate to ‘lower bound’ and deposit rate below zero; plans to provide banks with up to €400bn in cheap loans to boost lending to real economy
Nouy says SSM will bring ‘positive effects’ for Nordic banks
Supervisors from Nordic countries consider how their relationship will change when the SSM becomes operational; Denmark and Sweden are unlikely to opt in
BoJ’s Sato warns ECB about deflation risk
Bank of Japan policy board member says markets’ short- and medium-term inflation expectations have ‘started to decline somewhat’ in the eurozone
Riksbank calls for separate LCR in local currency
Swedish central bank is wary of lenders' ‘extremely low' krona buffers; proposed change could be constrained by the size of Sweden's sovereign bond market, however
Sarb says advanced economy tapering will cause ‘protracted period of volatility'
South African Reserve Bank says monetary policy normalisation in the US and elsewhere will cause a protracted period of volatility in emerging markets like South Africa
Czech paper aims to overcome ‘model uncertainty' over motives behind international reserves
Czech National Bank economists use Bayesian model averaging to suss out the chief motivations of holding international reserves
Caruana says ‘naïve' to be seduced by simple rules
Financial markets will continue to innovate to get around financial regulations - meaning regulators must also keep innovating, says BIS's Jaime Caruana
Lithuania cleared to adopt euro in 2015
Lithuania set to follow Estonia and Latvia into the eurozone; ECB gives seal of approval but warns it will be ‘challenging' to keep inflation low after joining
Bank of Portugal shifts research focus after Gaspar review
Portuguese central bank sets new research priorities following a strategic review; internal commission places emphasis on quarterly publication and career development
Fed overhauls collateral requirements for discount window
The changes, including separate requirements for fixed-rate and floating-rate loans posted by depository institutions, could make it harder to obtain central bank liquidity
Central Bank of Ecuador deposits half its gold with Goldman Sachs
Three-year deal sees the bank swap half-a-million ounces of bullion for ‘high security instruments and liquidity', ostensibly to cover government's widening fiscal deficit
Chile minutes reveal commitment to hit inflation target
Above-target inflation dissuaded the Central Bank of Chile's monetary policy-makers from cutting rates despite fears over an expanding output gap
Dutch economists back OMTs
Researchers find the dispersion of lending and deposit rates in the eurozone is largely attributable to the differences in the sovereign risk of its member states
US overtakes Taiwan as offshore RMB clearing centre
The value of RMB payments between the US and China jumped 229% in the year to April 2014, helping the US overtake Taiwan as the third-biggest offshore RMB clearing centre
BIS figures show cross-border lending on the mend outside the eurozone
Statistics for the final quarter of 2014 show cross-border lending recovering in most of the world, especially China, but continuing to decline in the eurozone
Rajan 'cognisant' of state financing needs as RBI loosens credit restraints
Reserve Bank of India holds key rate at 8% despite spike in food prices; takes steps towards creating a ‘more generalised provision of system liquidity’
Irish inflation is domestically determined, central bank economists find
Paper by Central Bank of Ireland deputy governor Gerlach and colleagues challenges traditional view that Irish inflation dynamics are determined abroad
Norges Bank poised to complete shift from FX buyer to seller before year's end
The Norwegian central bank sends strong signal it will make no foreign exchange purchases this year; analysts predict bank will make ‘symbolic shift' to net-seller in Q4