Central Banking
Bank of Mauritius struggles to buy-back debt, says governor
Rundheersing Bheenick says central bank is struggling to buy back bonds it was forced to issue to mop up excess liquidity
BoE’s Bailey preaches simple supervision
Bank of England executive director wants basic supervisory tools to support complex risk-based analysis
Investment drop in China would hit global growth, says IMF paper
Research says the economic reverberations of lower investment in China are becoming stronger
Kenya eases policy with 200bp rate cut
Central bank says financial stability has created conditions for monetary policy to be gradually eased; interest rates cut by 5.5 percentage points in two months
Greek mythology character to adorn new euro notes
New ‘Europa’ series of bank notes unveiled by ECB with five-euro note bearing the image of a Greek mythological princess first to be introduced in May 2013
Malawi governor questions the cost of controlling inflation
Charles Chuka considers the potential effects of tightening monetary policy to rein in an inflation rate approaching 30%
Policymakers can learn from behavioural insights, says Norwegian paper
Economic agent’s expectations are shaped in a myriad of ways and should be considered in policy decisions
Dutch paper praises financial innovation
Though it has been exploited by some, innovation in finance has contributed a lot to business and the wider world
Riksbank minutes reveal further rate cut rejected
Board members vote to hold interest rate at 1.25% despite two deputies' reservations
CCP model secrecy is ‘wrong and unjustifiable’, says BoE official
Central counterparties should be required to make details of their models public, says the Bank of England’s payments and infrastructure division head
Malaysia’s Zeti issues guidance to pan-Asean aspirational banks
As banks develop pan-Asean business models in line with the region’s push towards economic integration, Malaysia’s governor outlines business practices expected to secure favourable market access
Infrastructure bond should fund Africa’s growth, urges ADB president
Donald Kaberuka says Africa needs innovative financing to drive an economic transformation and achieve more inclusive development
Kenyan coin shortage denied by central bank
Central Bank of Kenya insists there are sufficient coins in circulation; urges public to accept coins ‘without reservation’
QE sliced unemployment by 1.5 points, says Fed’s Williams
San Francisco Fed president says Fed's forward guidance on rates has narrowed Treasury yields by 15-20 basis points, about the same amount as QE2; asset purchases have cut unemployment by 1.5 points
EU clearing mandates unlikely before August 2013
The first clearing mandates are unlikely to be in place in Europe before August 2013, says Bank of England’s head of payments and infrastructure division
BoJ paper evaluates zero interest rates in 1990s
Bank of Japan study considers the impact of zero interest rates and quantitative easing during the 1990s; says it had expansionary effects
Regulated banks take greater risks abroad, says ECB paper
ECB study finds banks subject to tight regulation for domestic activities respond by relaxing lending standards abroad
Fijian governor welcomes banking competition
Reserve Bank of Fiji’s Barry Whiteside approves new entrant into banking industry, saying Fiji is not ‘sufficiently banked’
Macedonian governor says economy is stagnant
Dimitar Bogov lowers Macedonia’s growth forecast down from 1% to stagnation; expects gradual recovery in following years
Lagarde implores next US president to act fast on ‘fiscal cliff’
IMF managing director Christine Lagarde has challenged the next US president to urgently address Washington’s ‘policy uncertainty’ irrespective of who wins
New deputy governor for National Bank of Slovakia
Ján Tóth appointed as deputy governor to Slovakian central bank; previously a member of the country’s Ministry of Finance research arm
Banks suspend dual-currency deposits in Japan
Returns on dual-currency and structured deposits will not be covered by state insurance scheme, Japanese FSA decides
High merchant fees may produce sub-optimum payments usage, says Fed paper
Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond working paper finds high merchant fees could be preventing payments markets from maximising consumer welfare
International reserves provided shelter from crisis, says Finland paper
Bank of Finland study says the accumulation of international reserves provided some countries with a buffer against the crisis; not such a clear-cut relationship with economic growth