Central Banking
UK’s Turner says financial fragmentation may not be a bad thing
Chairman of UK FSA says restrictions to cross-border financial flows have important benefits that should be weighed against costs
IMF paper urges ‘meaningful debt restructuring’ in private sector
Study says 'now is the time' for governments to tackle households and corporate sector debt; out-of-court restructurings may be a useful tool
Report slams IMF over Article IV ‘formalistic rituals’
Independent Evaluation Office finds IMF has been consistently failing in some areas, with the Fund paying little attention to the needs of individual countries
BoE minutes signal ‘shift in remit' to support economic growth
Minutes reveal governor Mervyn King sided with expanding QE, leading analysts to speculate that inflation is no longer a target
Eurozone ‘funding for lending scheme' gains favour
ABN Amro says a eurozone FLS would be ‘the most practical way of dealing with the credit constraints of SMEs'; Sony Kapoor says ECB would be ‘irresponsible' to ignore it
Zhou Xiaochuan to stay on as governor of PBoC, says Reuters
China’s top central banker and renminbi reformer Zhou Xiaochuan may not step down from his post as previously expected, according to a news agency report
People: NZ names new currency head, Fischer shuffles Israeli appointment committee
Reserve Bank of New Zealand hires retail banking expert as new head of currency; Bank of Israel and Richmond Fed name new members to key advisory groups
Bank of Portugal research adds new variable to explain export behaviour
Working paper asks whether domestic demand pressures affect Portugal's export performance; results point to asymmetric relationship
BoJ paper finds asymmetric macroprudential growth impacts
Research suggests macroprudential policy is good at cooling the economy but less effective at heating it, while the growth impact differs between tools
Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency welcomes diversification away from oil
Annual report reveals boost to growth and falling inflation in 2011; welcomes government intent to expand non-oil sector
Systemic risk measurement gets book treatment
Jorge Chan-Lau draws on experiences at IMF, World Bank and the central banks of Canada, Chile and Malaysia to provide methods and tools to measure systemic risk
Draghi wants variable NAV for all European MMFs
European Systemic Risk Board – chaired by ECB president – demands changes to the way money market funds present asset value, but industry body slams recommendations
Dutch central bank wants audit investigation into its role in SNS collapse
DNB says it is "pleading" for European rules to be changed to allow an investigation by the national auditor
BoJ board divided ahead of new governor appointment
Minutes detail arguments made by two policy board members who opposed move to 2% target, and why they were overruled; Shinzo Abe hints Bank of Japan could lose independence if target is not hit
Bundesbank’s Dombret warns low interest rates are not 'suitable therapy'
Executive board member Andreas Dombret says exit from low interest rate environment must take place at ‘right time’; expounds damage it causes to savers
Bank of Finland paper urges QE use outside crises
Analysis based on DSGE model finds asset purchases are a useful monetary policy tool in all states of the economy, but should be co-ordinated with conventional interest rate policy
Ukrainian deputy director says economy is ‘enjoying’ deflation
Oleksandr Arseniuk says ‘low inflation environment’ – with CPI at -0.2% in January – is benefiting the Ukrainian economy
RBA minutes warn growth may wobble in 2013
Minutes suggest economy is struggling to rebalance away from mining as peak in resource investment approaches, but low inflation gives room for further rate cuts
ECB researchers suggest refinements to macro stress tests
Working paper identifies a number of factors in addition to growth that determine the rate of non-performing loans; authors say this could allow for more accurate stress testing
Bank of England confirms Bailey as deputy governor
Andrew Bailey named Bank of England deputy governor and chief executive of the Prudential Regulation Authority from April 1
Draghi backs single resolution mechanism as banking union next step
ECB chief says single resolution authority should be set up when single supervisory mechanism is in place; suggests failure to do so would leave central supervisor toothless
FSB report warns G-20 over return of market appetite for risk
Carney tells G-20 governors and finance ministers the return of risk appetite makes reforms to OTC market and shadow banking even more urgent
G-20 vows to resist entering currency wars
Commentators including Paul Krugman and Christine Lagarde reject concerns over possible currency war, as G-20 reaffirms commitment to exchange rate flexibility
BoE’s Weale warns of burgeoning inflation risk due to weak pound
Monetary Policy Committee member says further depreciation of the pound could push inflation further from its target, but the Bank of England might just have to weather the storm