Banks
Low growth and low rates to hit financial stability, says IMF
Weak outlook is likely to feed into medium-term problems for financial stability, fund warns; Basel Committee may have to delay agreement on final framework
IMF: Central Bank of Iran should ‘streamline’ committee membership
IMF assessment warns of committees “dominated” by government agencies; fund stresses the central bank should limit membership to its senior officials and independent experts
EBA dashboard shows capital on the rise but NPLs remain a worry
Regulators’ quarterly risk assessment shows EU banks’ capital ratios have ‘slightly increased’, but loan portfolios remain an issue
BoE paper examines how US banks lend after hurricane shock
Local banks may play an “important role” in a geographically integrated banking system, paper says, despite their greater vulnerability to financial constraints
Central banks adopt Swift harmonisation charter
Three central banks join 18 other institutions in global rollout of messaging standard ISO 20022; separate taskforce working on publishing market practice guidelines
Fed’s Tarullo: stress testing needs to evolve
Fed is planning to toughen its stress-testing framework with better alignment with regulation and incorporation of dynamic “amplification” effects – though more research is needed
Fiji governor encourages wider use of stock market
Stock market an “excellent” platform for savers and businesses looking to expand, says Barry Whiteside, who expects the number of firms listed on the stock exchange to increase over time
RBNZ floats idea of bank regulatory dashboard
Bringing regulatory disclosures together in one place could impose market discipline and allow more straightforward comparison of risks, central bank says
Distributed ledgers ‘too much of a moving target’ to write business standards, says Swift
Paper addresses questions about how DLT automation can run smoothly in multi-party network environment; Swift recognises full-scale standardisation of distributed ledger use is premature
ECB paper examines use of eurozone bank lending survey
Changes in credit standards in the ECB’s bank lending survey serve as leading indicators for GDP and bank loan growth, researchers say
Markets back under central bank ‘sway’ – BIS quarterly review
Recent equity rally is “more stick than carrot”, says Claudio Borio, as latest report points to fresh signs of discomfort among banks and continued market distortions
BIS paper flags spillovers from bank dividends
Dividend payments create a channel through which one bank’s capital policy can affect the equity value and risk of default of others, giving capital the attributes of a public good
Basel Committee hits turbulence on approach to year-end deadline
Central banks and supervisors offer support to its year-end goal, but industry players and EU countries show growing concern over higher capital levels
Recessions nearly tripled amount of Italian NPLs, paper argues
Italian bad debt levels would be almost one third of their current levels without the sub-prime and sovereign debt crises, a counterfactual analysis argues
‘Neural network’ could help construct early warning systems – Colombian paper
Model can detect identity of bank by analysing features of its balance sheet, which the authors say can be coupled with other financial stress indicators to help classify banks by their fragility
Changes to central bank law mooted in the Philippines
Proposed changes include oversight of more financial institutions as well as the capacity for the central bank to place harsher sanctions on illegal transactions
BoE’s Cleland discusses extending digital central bank money to the public
Costs and benefits need to be better understood, says Cleland, but the Bank of England is investigating all avenues
Flug urges Israeli parliament to make haste in setting up financial stability committee
Bank of Israel governor says changes to banking competition increase the need for the new supervisory body, warning risks may be on the rise
More than AML fears driving correspondent banks away from Arab economies – report
AMF-IMF-World Bank survey of banks in Arab nations finds a broader de-risking to be behind pull-back of correspondent banking, though trend is uneven
Malawi launches newsletter on financial inclusion and consumer protection
Latest financial inclusion initiative to inform members of the public about new developments in the market as well as improve financial literacy; newsletter forms part of larger national initiative
RBA launches first banknote with edge-to-edge window
Twelve-year project cost the bank $37 million; new series to feature pioneering security elements and is the first to trial tactile features for the visually impaired
‘More market pressure’ on institutions to compete on safety, says RBNZ’s Fiennes
There is no government guarantee, says Fiennes; boards and managers are responsible for managing risks
FSB sees limited evidence of regulatory side-effects
Global financial reforms appear not to have had a significant impact on market liquidity or emerging markets, and have helped prevent the global system from fragmenting, authority says
Swift threatens to report users who fail to update software
Cyber security threat is "persistent, adaptive and sophisticated – and it is here to stay”, Swift says; customers have until November 19 to install updates