Central Banking
Portugal must strengthen institutions to attract foreign direct investment - working paper
Bank of Portugal researchers call for a focus on corruption and strengthening the independence of the financial system to increase attractiveness for FDI
McKinnon says Fed must raise rates to stimulate growth and employment
Leading academic says positive real interest rates are the only way out of a credit crunch that's holding back lending to the productive economy
Michael Woodford backs combining nominal GDP and inflation target
Leading monetary policy theorist advocates immediate fiscal transfer to the public, funded by central bank purchase of government debt, coupled with adoption of nominal GDP target
Asia corporates unfairly ‘penalised’ by CVA capital charge
The move by European authorities to exempt European banks from holding CVA capital should be matched by regulators in Asia, according to senior bankers in the region
Fiji's new $5 note is island nation's polymer pioneer
New FJ$5 note will be Fiji's first polymer banknote, and will supplant the defunct FJ$2 note as the country's smallest
Riksbank submits account of monetary policy 2012
Report on last year's actions submitted to parliament to assess Riksbank performance
IMF paper recommends China adopt ‘better-targeted’ macro-prudential policies
Study encourages China to tailor macro-prudential tools to regional and economics differences in country’s banks; suggests coupling policies with greater commercialisation
Norwegian paper finds implicit intra-day interest rate in UK money market
Research says that – in the absence of contractually binding repayment time – there is an implicit cost of delaying payments in the UK’s overnight money market
Brics leaders agree to set up $100 billion ‘financial safety net'
Contingent reserve agreement will allow Brics countries to provide each other financial support and will 'contribute to strengthening the global financial safety net'
Parliament gives Agus green light to become Bank Indonesia chief
Agus Martowardojo gets parliamentary approval to replace Darmin Nasution as governor of Bank Indonesia, after nine hours of questioning by commission
Australian banks ‘relatively strong’, says RBA
Reserve Bank of Australia’s latest financial stability review finds banks’ profits and capital levels are increasing; real economy suffering from high exchange rate
RBNZ article says ‘open bank resolution’ helps keep banks in line
Quarterly bulletin describes resolution mechanism aimed at minimising disruption to bank customers; suggests use as an alternative to bail-out strengthens incentive for banks to operate prudently
Slovenia picks new central bank governor to guide economy to safety
Boštjan Jazbec will take over from Marko Kranjec at the helm of the eurozone nation's central bank - tasked with 'repairing the financial sector'
BoE’s FPC calls on banks to raise more capital despite drop in lending
Financial Policy Committee says banks must correct a £25 billion shortfall by the end of the year, but should not cut lending; loans to private sector continue downward slide
Sanusi impersonators shut down in fight against Nigerian scams
Central Bank of Nigeria ensures over 100 social networking accounts impersonating governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi are closed down in battle against fraud
Bundesbank researchers test if higher inflation could ease public debt burden
Paper finds 'minor effect' on public debt from a raised inflation target, and would only be felt over a long time-frame
Canadian deputy encourages use of derivatives central counterparty
Bank of Canada deputy calls for ‘material increase’ in central counterparty membership; supports smaller institutions accessing service through existing participants
China uses Brics summit to further RMB internationalisation
South Africa and Brazil sign deals with PBoC to 'strengthen economic relations' between Brics nations
Osborne defends new Bank of England remit
George Osborne defends changes to Bank of England’s remit; UK economists say the finance minister has shifted the burden for stimulating growth on to the central bank
UK FSA finalises Libor regulations
Financial Services Authority produces final rules for regulating benchmarks, days before it will cease to exist; regulated firms will undergo compliance review by new watchdog in coming year
Blanchard and Summers warn on central banks' democratic deficit
Axel Weber opposes supervisory role for central banks, as Olivier Blanchard and Larry Summers warn expanded mandates cause questions over democratic accountability
BoE Financial Policy Committee gets three new members
Former LSE head Clara Furse among the new external members named to Bank of England’s FPC; Donald Kohn re-appointed to his post
Bernanke denies QE represents competitive devaluation
Fed chairman plays down effect of asset purchases on exchange rates and emerging markets; Axel Weber says countries can lean against QE if necessary, but highlights more serious flaws
BoE survey sees signs of easing in UK financial markets
Funding costs fall and investor demand rises ‘significantly’, although total volumes remain roughly flat, Bank of England liabilities survey finds