Euro
Greek crisis enters critical weekend
Negotiations enter final days, with European authorities scrambling to assess whether new proposals go far enough; Greece has backers, but Germany must still be persuaded
Greece asks for three-year ESM bailout as Tsipras tries to unite Europe
Government submits request for longer support programme than previous proposals while Alexis Tsipras seeks backing during rowdy European Parliament session
Greece set to request new ESM bailout
Greece expected to submit new proposal to ESM in effort to unlock bailout funds; ECB appears to increase haircuts on collateral used by Greek banks to obtain emergency liquidity
Greece closer to default as creditors throw out latest proposals
Leaked copy of counterproposal by Greece’s creditors complete with red-inked changes shows agreement as far away as ever, with less than a week until major IMF repayment
Bank of Greece foresees ‘uncontrollable crisis’ if talks fail
Central bank weighs in with bleak prognosis for life without the euro as talks go to the wire; next Eurogroup meeting on June 18 offers last chance
The rising international role of the renminbi
The global reach of Chinese investment and the renminbi have expanded rapidly over the past few years. The currency’s journey is seen by some as a reflection of China’s global ambition and expansion
Economists expect last-minute Greek deal
With Greek finances still looking close to collapse, Central Banking asks a group of economists what the consequences of a last-minute agreement or default might be
New euro banknotes go down well in the Netherlands
Study conducted for the Netherlands Bank finds new €5 and €10 banknotes are more popular than their predecessors, though familiarity with design features remains low
Greek governor wants surplus countries to recognise ‘toxic’ effect of austerity
Yannis Stournaras warns surplus countries must bear a share of the burden of adjustment in Europe or risk the rise of extreme political parties; says he is optimistic a deal is ‘not far away’
Five problems with floating rate exchange regimes
Robert Aliber bemoans the dangers of sharp moves in major currencies that are the result of floating rate currency regimes, and answers five rhetorical questions related to monetary stability
UBS escapes DoJ prosecution and fine
But it pays a further £342 million to the Fed over FX conduct issues
Greece talks more positive but time running out, says Varoufakis
Finance minister says Greece and its creditors are increasingly seeing eye-to-eye, but a deal is needed in the next ‘couple of weeks’; country manages to scrape together IMF repayment
Alexandre Lamfalussy: 1929–2015
Those who knew him pay tribute to the former president of the European Monetary Institute and general manager of the Bank for International Settlements
Draghi says ECB may have to reassess Greek emergency liquidity
ECB president says situation in Greece may force governing council to revisit the terms of emergency liquidity, as another round of negotiations breaks down
SNB’s Danthine: traders wrong to paint Swiss franc surge as black swan
It was 'absolutely certain' that SNB would end Swiss franc floor, says vice-chair of the governing board
Public to vote on design of €2 commemorative coin
Eurozone residents invited by European Commission to pick one of five designs for a coin marking the 30th anniversary of the EU flag; partly a tool for raising awareness of economic governance
Nigerian reserves head believes renminbi can ‘complement’ euro and dollar
Lamido Yuguda discusses the benefits of a multipolar system and how the Central Bank of Nigeria is managing its renminbi investments in a new book
Global FX reserves down, dollar allocations up
Valuation effects push US dollar portion of allocated reserves higher while euro slips
Jacques de Larosière on the international monetary system and the eurozone
Central Banking’s Chris Jeffery speaks to former IMF chief Jacques de Larosière about efforts to restore the global financial system and challenges for the eurozone at the Central Banking Awards 2015
Former ECB banknotes director describes 'arduous path' to Europa launch
Antti Heinonen details the challenges and occasional mishaps in delivering a ‘quantum leap’ in eurozone banknote designs, with the latest new note to be issued later this year
IMF report urges review of euro timeline in Romania
Staff fear convergence could take longer than expected; encourage the transition to a ‘full-fledged’ inflation targeting regime at the central bank
Denmark eases pressure on banks but stays tough on krone peg
National Bank of Denmark raises limits on current account deposits to ease pressure on banks after forex interventions, but stresses speculators will lose if they continue to attack the krone peg
Azerbaijan devalues currency by a third
Central bank follows up last week’s decision to abandon its peg in favour of a currency basket by devaluing the manat by 34% against the US dollar
Jordan laments ‘significantly overvalued’ franc
Some of the ‘overshooting’ that occurred in the wake of the SNB’s decision to withdraw its currency cap has been corrected, but Jordan argues the franc is still too strong