Central Banking
Australia adjusting well to ‘profound impact’ of strong Asian growth, says paper
Research examines consequences of strong Asia-Pacific growth on Australian economy, finding currency appreciation and anchored inflation helped economy adjust
Central Bank of Egypt hikes rates as reserves dwindle and inflation rises
Monetary Policy Committee agrees 50 basis point rise despite ‘feeble’ growth, as inflation shows highest rise since 2010 and reserves fall to critical levels
RBNZ looks to toughen payments oversight
Reserve Bank of New Zealand deems its oversight powers ‘insufficient’ in internal review; proposes new powers to boost authority over payments industry
Dutch paper analyses changes in unsecured overnight money market
Study examines changes to the ECB’s monetary policy framework in the mid-2000s; finds they reduced volatility in Dutch segment of Target II system
Swiss National Bank faces referendum over gold sales
Politicians seek to prevent SNB from selling gold and force the central bank to hold 20% of assets in the precious metal via a public referendum
IMF research identifies ‘strong macro-financial linkages’ in eastern Europe
Working paper finds macroeconomic factors closely tied to non-performing loans in central, eastern and southeast Europe; warns of ‘strong feedback effects’ between banks and economy
ECB threatens to cut off liquidity support to Cyprus
Governing council says no more emergency liquidity will be provided to Cypriot banks if a deal is not reached by Monday; negotiations continue and banks will remain closed into next week
Nominal GDP dismissed as viable policy target in Central Banking debate
Former Bank of England officials argue against adopting a nominal GDP target for monetary policy; economist Gabriel Stein brands it ‘absolute madness’
RBI’s Sinha says good bank governance should reduce need for intervention
Deputy governor sets out Indian corporate governance requirements; says sound corporate practices and regulation should complement one another, reducing the need for supervisors to intervene
Sepa migration at risk due to poor preparedness, says ECB
First progress report expresses alarm at some companies planning to migrate very close to deadline; payments could be disrupted if deadline missed, but Benoît Cœuré says ‘there is no plan B’
CNB paper formulates optimal policy for transition to euro
Working paper examines how Czech monetary policy should respond to uncertainty during the transition to the euro; finds exchange rate should be stabilised if transition is likely to be long
Former BoE deputy backs dual mandate for UK central bank
Former Bank of England deputy governor says central bank remit changes in UK budget yesterday were ‘disappointing’; advocates switch to a dual mandate targeting growth and inflation
CNB research finds exchange rate moves dampen shocks
Working paper finds exchange rate shocks are only minor contributors to the variance of output and inflation; says koruna-euro exchange rate is a shock absorber for the economy
Basel III insufficient for ‘huge’ Swedish banking system, says Ingves
Sveriges Riksbank governor says Sweden must go ‘over and above’ capital and liquidity standards in Basel III; identifies household debt and bank market-funding as core weaknesses
BIS finds Singapore compliant with Basel III
Consistency assessment finds Singapore compliant in 12 areas and ‘largely compliant’ in remaining two; report notes 46 deviations were initially identified, but many were addressed during the review
Dombret warns national banking systems are too-big-to-fail
Bundesbank’s Andreas Dombret says too-big-to-fail problem extends to whole banking systems; says some eurozone systems could have to be downsized
Major part of banking union set for mid-2014, says ECB official
National supervisors made 'gigantic mistakes', says ECB's financial stability head; outlines plans for SSM
RBNZ deputy defends bank resolution policy
Grant Spencer insists the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s resolution policy differs from the controversial Cyprus proposals; says deposit insurance doesn’t prevent bank failures
RBA deputy governor says record low rates are beginning to work
Philip Lowe defends six rate cuts since November 2011, saying there are signs the Australian economy is beginning to respond to the stimulus; urges patience while effects feed through
People: FSB appoints new chairs; Pakistani board reaches full strength
Three central bankers appointed to head Financial Stability Board committees; Pakistan completes drive to fill governing board; and more
Bank of England handed new remit
UK budget embeds flexibility in MPC remit; suggests the committee adopts explicit forward guidance as a new policy tool; looks to expand funding for lending scheme
Higher Basel III pricing deters Asian banks from issuing new Tier II capital
Banks issued debt before the end-of-2012 deadline for Basel II capital, lessening their refinancing requirements for this year
Central Bank of Cyprus governor tells government to scrap small-depositor levy
Panicos Demetriades says government should apply heavier haircut to depositors above €100,000 threshold and spare those below; predicts run when banks re-open on Thursday
French paper quantifies cost of implicit bank insurance
Research examines the cost of implicit insurance given to systemically important financial institutions by EU countries; assesses costs in terms of increased taxes