Central Banks
St Louis Fed chief says independence remains critical
Musalem adds that there is little reason for further policy easing in near term
Bolivia receives $4.5bn financing package from IDB
Country secures second major deal with multilateral fund since new president took office in November
NZ foreign minister attacks central bank chief for backing Powell
Breman told to ‘stay in her New Zealand lane’ after signing letter in support of Fed chair
People: HKMA extends deputy chief executive’s term
Plus new appointments in the Philippines, New Zealand and Vietnam
Experts decry ‘show trial’ of Fed chair
Probe slammed as politically motivated attack on Powell for doing his job
New England is pocket of recession risk in US – Fed study
Researchers say overall threat of national downturn is low, but requires monitoring nevertheless
Private credit to grow in Europe in 2026 – S&P
Basel implementation and diversification away from US point to more activity, analysts say
Philippines extends incentives for sustainable lending
BSP says banks can have up to 40% credit exposure for green projects for another two years
Central bank governors express ‘full solidarity’ with Powell
Lagarde and Bailey among signatories of statement in wake of Department of Justice investigation
Op risk incidents average over 100 a year among central banks
Financial impact is risk managers’ strongest metric for gauging incidents’ severity
Collateral velocity is disappearing behind a digital curtain
Dealers may welcome digital-era rewiring to free up collateral movement, but tokenisation will obscure metrics
Eurozone food inflation to ease in 2026 – ECB bulletin
Sticky prices have moderated in recent months and should decline further in 2026, economists say
BoE paper offers method to build narrative around forecasts
Process could support use of SVAR models in monetary policy process
Phishing and ransomware are central banks’ main cyber threats
Teams widely use training, monitoring and privilege management to mitigate cyber threats
State Bank of Vietnam lowers credit growth target
Central bank says lenders should ‘strictly control’ loans to risky sectors
CBDCs versus instant payments
Are technological and ecosystem advances using CBDCs and instant payments complementary or substitutes?
Banxico signals slowdown to rate cuts as inflation falls
Latest figures show non-core metric lies within Mexican central bank’s acceptable band
Peru holds rate for fourth time in a row
Strong currency, stable inflation and healthy growth allow central bank to keep things as they are
Just under half of risk departments are sufficiently staffed
Units with satisfied staffing levels earn below global average annual salary
Book notes: The London Consensus, by Tim Besley, Irene Bucelli and Andrés Velasco
The authors set out guidelines to address shortcomings linked to the Washington consensus, but implementation will be a challenge