Central Banking
UK banks on cyber threat alert, says BoE’s Haldane
Chief risk officers at UK banks worried about cyber-attacks on financial institutions; Bank of England official says government must take ultimate responsibility to guard against cyber threats
Canadian paper proposes new DSGE model for analysing credit shocks
Working paper proposes new model that accounts for the effects of defaults on both households and banks; finds the probability of a company defaulting rises with its leverage ratio
UK mulls US-style bank stress tests
Bank of England seeks to improve bank stress tests by including publicly disclosed remedial actions as debate intensifies over independence and the use of a leverage ratio in the UK
Ingves wants Riksbank monopoly over macro-prudential policy
Stefan Ingves dismisses proposals for central bank and financial services authority to share responsibility for macro-prudential responsibility
Turkish central bank steps in to calm forex markets
Capital outflows have prompted Turkey's central bank to purchase local currency in a bid to smooth ‘market volatility'; move seen as signalling a failure of the bank's 'Reserve Option Mechanism'
Belgian supervisor warns against Basel III over-simplification
National Bank of Belgium’s Rudi Bonte calls for the Basel Committee to take a ‘moderate’ stance on the trade-off between simplicity and complexity in its risk and capital rules
National Bank of Denmark tells smaller banks to strengthen their positions
Financial Stability Report for 2013 reveals that while the five nationally systemic banks have plenty of capital, some smaller banks are found wanting
Austria’s Nowotny cautious on single supervisor
National Bank of Austria governor says there are valid reasons for central banks to play a greater role in banking supervision, but voices concerns regarding the single supervisory mechanism
Ibos warns of payments disruption as Sepa deadline set to be missed
Banking association says 2014 Sepa migration target will be missed at current pace, which could see systems shut down and payments fail; harmonisation may be limited even when target met
Asmussen defends ECB bond purchases at German constitutional court hearing
German representative on the European Central Bank’s executive board Jörg Asmussen rejects charges the central bank exceeded its legal basis by agreeing to purchase the sovereign debt of eurozone nations
Bank of England faces legal challenge over all-male banknote roster
Central bank stands accused of failing in its duties under the Equality Act, after choosing to replace the only woman on a British banknote with Winston Churchill
Brazil central bank faces contradictions in global economy's 'new reality'
The Central Bank of Brazil resorts to forex intervention, as it finds itself fighting a weakening currency alongside weak growth and inflation straining at the top of its target band
ECB paper finds cost of macro-prudential policies may outweigh benefits
Working paper finds macro-prudential policies can be effective in deflating asset bubbles, but warns the cost of doing so may be higher than the benefit
BoE markets head warns of collateral balancing act
Andrew Hauser says repo markets must be ‘prudentially sound’ but remain ‘sufficiently deep and liquid’; warns against an ‘excessive’ central bank presence
Bank of Finland expects continuing recession in 2013
Central bank lowers its growth forecasts for next three years, saying GDP will contract by 0.8% in 2013 while unemployment will rise to 8.6% the following year
Fed research models optimal monetary and fiscal policy under uncertainty
Discussion paper seeks to improve on previous models by introducing uncertainty; finds it is optimal for the government to spend more at the zero lower bound under uncertainty
Polish paper compares MP committees' efficiency
Paper finds MPCs became less efficient following the crisis, though the ECB and BoE have been quick to recover; says academics and central bankers make most efficient members
People: Poloz names special advisor; BoE appoints insurance specialist to PRA
Bank of Canada appoints senior advisor to the governor; UK's Prudential Regulation Authority names final independent director; payments systems Bacs and Chaps appoint new chairmen
Cœuré says ECB has no re-distributive mandate
'Distributional consequences of monetary policy are temporary, unintended, and with the view of safeguarding price stability,' ECB board member says in a speech today in Vienna
Swedish deputy says monetary policy must remain as tool for dealing with financial imbalances
Per Jansson says macro-prudential policies will only complement, and not replace, the Riksbank’s use of its benchmark interest rate to lean against financial imbalances
Omani central bank releases first financial stability report
Reveals the creation of an independent financial stability unit responsible for implementing macro-prudential policies; calls for a new macro-financial model and improved data collection
Parliament launches inquiry into independence of Bank of England’s FPC
Law-makers raise questions over independence of Financial Policy Committee; concerned by Osborne’s recent changes to its membership and remit
ECB voices fresh concern over Central Bank of Cyprus' independence
European Central Bank says draft law on the governance of the Central Bank of Cyprus contains a number of threats to its independence; follows earlier intervention by Mario Draghi
Navigating an exit from accommodative policy is ‘an art and not a science’
Participants at CEPR forum debate the challenges central banks must deal with when withdrawing unconventional policies; some express concern over rising asset prices