Central Banking
BIS researchers fear separation rules could make banks harder to resolve
Recommendations from Vickers, Volcker and Liikanen examined in new paper focusing on implications for global banking business models
‘Belief-twisting' macro shocks can reverberate through generations, research finds
Banque de France researcher examines how households' expectations can take decades to recover after a macroeconomic shock
FDIC's Hoenig calls for more action to correct incentives for financial companies
Speech to Asian bankers in Jakarta examines role of incentives in leading to the crisis, and hampering recovery
Winston Churchill to appear on Bank of England’s next new banknote
UK set to release new £5 banknote series in 2016 featuring portrait of former prime minister Winston Churchill; honours his parliamentary and literary work
IMF calls for unconventional measures to tackle eurozone fragmentation
David Lipton says ECB will probably have to use unconventional measures to overcome credit crunch in peripheral eurozone members
Hong Kong to launch offshore renminbi benchmark rates
Treasury Markets Association plans to introduce a range of offshore renminbi interbank rates, to ‘spearhead’ development of offshore renminbi markets
Korean economy defies won strength to return to growth
South Korean economy posts strongest quarter-on-quarter growth in two years; currency remains "moderately weaker than desirable", according to IMF
Ireland chases €1bn saving with payments overhaul
Central bank launches new initiative to curb high cash and cheque use and boost electronic payments; proposals include possibility of scrapping one and two cent coins
Banks to blame for regulatory fragmentation, says Basel Committee’s Coen
Bank lobbying has encouraged national supervisors to water down global standards, says deputy secretary-general of Basel Committee
G-20 report says move from stabilisation to growth requires ‘difficult balancing act’
G-20 meeting report urges carefully calibrated fiscal tightening to ‘nurture’ recovery; backs accommodative monetary policy and says emerging markets should use rapid growth to build buffers
African growth could be ‘derailed’ by geopolitical tensions
South African Reserve Bank fears terrorism in continent’s key growth economies and heightened risk of social unrest could harm Africa’s growth prospects; also concerned by domestic unemployment
Polish paper examines banks’ risks when state safety net grows
Study finds that banks in central Europe take higher levels of risks under a larger deposit insurance scheme; less so in times of financial crisis
ECB annual report strikes hopeful note at end of rough year
Report highlights peak in financial market stress in mid-year, but says policy measures were effective in reducing this later in year; inflation above target and growth on downward slide
Omani central bank to join government drive for more SME lending
Omani authorities hope to increase jobs in the private sector by stimulating the flow of credit to small and medium-sized companies
ECB says ‘difficult to do more’ as pressure mounts for more action
Further deterioration in eurozone data leads some to predict ECB rate cut at May meeting and possible SME ‘support package’; ECB executives signal action still unlikely
ECB’s Cœuré says cashless society is neither likely nor desirable
Executive board member believes cash is too popular to phase out, but should be made more efficient; €5 note awareness campaign shows mixed results
Fed to release new $100 bill in October after three-year delay
New $100 bill with new security features is finally ready to enter circulation, after 'creasing' issues caused delays in 2011
Bank of Canada annual report highlights banknote success
New series of polymer banknotes introduced in 2012 as counterfeiting continues to fall; inflation kept shackled throughout year but falls below target in December
The Dutch are ‘poorly informed’ about country’s debt
Central bank survey finds that the Netherlands’ population underestimates the size of the country’s public debt, and wrongly attributes its creation to support for banks and other European governments
Bank of England ups incentives for increased SME lending
BoE in conjunction with Treasury introduces new incentives in a bid to get credit to struggling small business sector
ECB paper seeks to boost predictive power of macroeconomic models
Research analyses and seeks to supplement the predictive power of the three main families of macroeconomic models – DFM, DSGE and VAR – used by central banks
Bank of Italy research finds evidence of investors ‘waking up’ to sovereign risk
Working paper suggests widening eurozone sovereign spreads caused by ‘complacent’ investors suddenly paying closer attention to risks
Australia to shift 5% of foreign reserves to China
Deputy governor Philip Lowe reveals the Reserve Bank of Australia will invest around 5% of its foreign exchange reserves in China; Asian economists divided over significance of move
NY Fed president dispenses policy advice to European and US governments
William Dudley tells European policy-makers that moving forward with banking union is critical, while the US government should be worrying more about its fiscal outlook