Central Banking
IMF report issues call to action on worsening Palestinian economy
Palestinian, Israeli and international authorities must move fast to tackle liquidity crisis, unsustainable public finances and political uncertainty in the West Bank and Gaza, staff report warns
Nalm 2013: Bank of Israel’s Abir challenges credit risk assumptions in reserve management
Head of market operations Andrew Abir asks how bonds and equities can be consolidated under one reserve management framework; insists credit rating agencies remain valuable
Nalm 2013: Delegates debate reigniting European ABS market
Participants at Central Banking event discuss mechanisms to get European financial markets off life support; particular focus on asset-backed securities
Nalm 2013: National Bank of Austria analyst sets out currency diversification strategy
Portfolio analyst details models and analysis used to determine National Bank of Austria’s currency portfolio; shows diversification gives better risk/return
Nalm 2013: Debate rages over how to manage expanding reserves
Central banks enter into new asset classes and alternative currencies but Bank of Israel’s Andrew Abir rejects value of renminbi as a reserve currency
Nalm 2013: Kotz stresses necessity of exceptional policy despite moral hazard
Former Bundesbank board member says exceptional response by major central banks to the financial crisis was unavoidable as cost of inaction would have been ‘massive’
MAS’s Menon says Singapore is ready for shifting financial ‘centre of gravity’
Managing director says Singapore is well prepared to take advantage of a shift in finance towards Asia, with strong regulation and close links to the rest of the region
BoE research warns of coming financing problems for private equity firms
Quarterly bulletin article highlights problems on the horizon for private equity firms that over-leveraged before the financial crisis, as their debt comes to maturity under much tighter conditions
RBI’s Subbarao bemoans contradictory demands on central bank
Reserve Bank of India governor says unique Indian growth and inflation dynamics make it impossible to satisfy everyone; deflects criticism over rates being both too high and too low
IMF attempts to sculpt better stress tests
Stress tests are ‘more art than science’ but can be improved and expanded, according to IMF study; cannot be standardised across countries
ECB’s Cœuré says financial fragmentation ‘remains high’
Executive board member Benoît Cœuré highlights evidence of receding fragmentation in the eurozone but warns overall level still too high
IMF research warns short-term fiscal consolidation pain could become more serious
Paper says short-term growth impact from fiscal tightening could be worsened if markets or policy-makers overreact; emphasises this does not mean budget cuts should be scrapped
Central banks ‘are not done easing yet’, says Morgan Stanley chief economist
US investment bank’s Joachim Fels says central banks are entering into a third stage of monetary easing; eurozone growth forecast cut to -0.7%
Gold should dominate RMB in central bank reserves, says WGC
World Gold Council encourages central banks – particularly in emerging market economies – to diversify into gold ahead of RMB and other ‘alternative’ currencies
Basel Committee will assess whether capital rules need simplifying
Stefan Ingves, chairman of the Basel Committee, says simplicity is "desirable" but it is too soon to judge whether capital rules are overly complex
Dutch central bank paper examines impact of capital controls on currency crises
Study finds lower capital controls reduce the probability of a currency crisis, particularly in advanced economies where there is greater institutional development
Bundesbank paper raises concerns over accuracy of systemic risk measures
Researchers find market-based systemic risk measures may give a façade of safety even as banks enter ‘major tail risks’
Putin picks economic adviser as Bank of Russia chief
Elvira Nabiullina nominated to succeed Sergey Ignatiev as chairman of the Bank of Russia; faces challenge of maintaining monetary policy credibility despite close ties to the Kremlin
Bank of Japan derivatives purchases threaten already low equity ratio
The BoJ's latest inflation-targeting weapon could challenge its balance sheet strength
UK gears up to new era of prudential regulation
The UK will adopt ‘twin peaks’ supervision in April in a bid to restore integrity to its financial system. Chris Jeffery talks to the Bank of England’s Sarah Breeden about the challenges ahead
Bundesbank turns €664 million profit in 2012
Deutsche Bundesbank profit increases by €21 million from 2011; Jens Weidmann says increase in the central bank’s risk provisions limited return
Goodhart argues bail-outs are better than bail-ins
LSE panel highlights unintended consequences of new regulation, in areas including bail-ins, capital requirements and banking separation; Charles Goodhart says investors will not buy bail-inable debt
BoJ unveils policy for oversight of market infrastructure
The Bank of Japan reveals new policy for its oversight of payment and settlement systems and CCPs; mainly concerned with mitigating systemic risk
Riksbank’s payment system restored after technical failure
Sweden’s large-value payments system, RIX, restored to full functionality after failing to start yesterday afternoon. But cause of disruption still unknown