Central Banking
Bank of Lithuania axes quarter of staff
Lithuanian central bank completes process of streamlining main operations under four branches; cuts 195 employees during the course of a year
IMF tightens rules on money laundering surveillance
New IMF policy document introduces mandatory reporting on money laundering where it represents a risk to financial stability; Vatican sanctioned over failures in money laundering safeguards
Currency mismatches hit corporates hard during crisis, says Hungarian paper
Prior to the crisis of 2007, companies with large foreign exchange liabilities and no hedge comprised 7% of the corporate sector but held 66% of the loans; had lower survival rates and profits as a result
BoE paper tackles issue of cross-dependence in panel data models
Research published by the Bank of England uses a Bayesian approach to short dynamic panel data estimation; attempts to capture ‘cross-sectional dependence’
Stiglitz slams ‘unconscionable’ central bank independence
Economist Joseph Stiglitz attacks central bank independence, saying conflicts of interest and recent interventions amounting to fiscal policy are unjustifiable for a non-elected body
RBI report condemns ‘excessive’ gold demand
Reserve Bank of India working group recommends gold imports are reduced to protect the country’s balance of payments and currency reserves
US thrashes out partial solution to fiscal cliff
US government reaches agreement that postpones and reduces fiscal cliff; measures unlikely to have significant impact on Fed policy, some observers say
Central Bank of Egypt grapples with falling currency
Egyptian pound continues fall after currency auctions by central bank; follows rating downgrade as concerns raised over impact of political turmoil and weakening economy
BoJ research warns of unintended policy consequences from Libor
Working paper says reference rates such as Libor can provide valuable information to markets but may also skew central bank policy-making by adding noise to credit spreads
NY Fed paper studies Treasury liquidity crunches
Staff report finds negative feedback relationship between price volatility and liquidity in US Treasury markets – a trend that worsens during financial crises
Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina names new vice-governor
Ernadina Bajrović will serve a four-year term and will be responsible for administrative and financial operations
Peruvian paper seeks to fill data void between quarterly releases
Research published by Central Bank of Peru says monthly macroeconomic variables provide information that can be harnessed to predict quarterly aggregates
BoE survey shows businesses credit increased ‘significantly’ in fourth quarter
Bank of England survey finds credit extended to households and the corporate sector increased in the last quarter of 2012
IMF figures show fall in euro’s share of foreign exchange holdings
Euro-denominated foreign exchange reserve currency claims fell by $8.19 billion in the third quarter of 2012 as developing nations diversify their holdings
Eurozone periphery begins latest bank repairs
Spain injects a total of €37 billion into four weakest banks; Greece estimates backstop facility requirements at €50 billion of public funds
Restrictions on Sri Lankan banks relaxed
Foreign exchange trading limits on Sri Lanka’s commercial banks relaxed by central bank as country pursues ‘second wave’ of growth
RBI shakes up management roles as deputy departs
Duties of Reserve Bank of India governing board reshuffled as deputy governor Subir Gokarn’s term expires; new executive director appointed
Boston Fed paper lauds survey data over rational assumptions for macro models
Research published by Federal Reserve Bank of Boston finds the performance of DSGE models is enhanced by introducing survey data on inflation, unemployment and interest rates
Korea research appraises exchange rate volatility
Working paper published by Bank of Korea finds both high and low exchange rate volatility impacts the country’s credit inflows and can carry negative consequences
Fed research asserts ‘potency’ of quantitative easing
Working paper finds large-scale asset purchases by the Federal Reserve equivalent to a cut in the Federal funds rate of more than 3%; estimates are higher than previous studies
Bank of Russia increases inflation target for 2013
Guidelines for monetary policy in Russia over the next three years include revised inflation goal for 2013; inflation overshoots target band in 2012
Robert Pringle’s Viewpoint: Can banking recover its lost reputation?
The UK’s Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards issued a thoughtful paper in December offering clarity on some of the flaws present in current banking reform
Central Bank of Ecuador governor resigns
Pedro Delgado resigns after admitting he does not hold a degree in economics, according to local media reports
Paper: Competition, Innovation, and Implications in Retail Payments
A new paper from the Dutch central bank looks at the key determinants that affect asset pricing, competition and innovation