Euro
Eurozone’s unique policy framework creates communication confusion, ECB paper shows
Political communication has a quantifiable effect on sovereign bond spreads – at least in the short term, authors argue
Croatian membership boosts ECB capital
Croatia’s central bank has joined the European System of Central Banks (ESCB), with governor Boris Vujčić taking his place on the ECB’s general council
Latvia to adopt euro in 2014
European Commission gives Latvia the green light to become eighteenth eurozone member after it comfortably meets convergence criteria, but ECB voices concerns over price and financial stability
Germans clash over banking union treaty change
ECB board member opposes German finance minister's plan to introduce limited version of banking union to allow time for treaty change
Icelandic finance minister backs euro switch
Katrín Júlíusdóttir says adopting euro could help to restrain inflation and boost investment; Central Bank of Iceland publishes annual report
CNB paper formulates optimal policy for transition to euro
Working paper examines how Czech monetary policy should respond to uncertainty during the transition to the euro; finds exchange rate should be stabilised if transition is likely to be long
Booknotes: Making the European Monetary Union
A history of the Committee of Central Bank Governors for the period 1964 to 1993, for which the author, Harold James, had access to the archives
Booknotes: Europe's Unfinished Currency
Mayer has grasped the essential truth about Europe’s single currency – that the project not only has an economic context but also an historical one and, above all, a political one.
Renminbi internationalisation to get boost from 60m overseas Chinese
Use of the renminbi by the 60-million strong Chinese diaspora will accelerate the currency’s use in global trade and reserves management. By Gary Smith.
Constâncio sets out ECB's priority tasks in European banking union
European Central Bank vice-president aware of reputational risks from single supervisory mechanism; says ECB must work with EBA to develop a manual of supervisory practices
Banks could be forced into Euribor submission
European Commissioner Michel Barnier says banks could be compelled to take part in rate-setting process under new legislation
French president calls for euro exchange rate policy
François Hollande says the single currency cannot be left vulnerable to the whims of the market and a valuation that wipes out efforts to improve competitiveness
SNB profits halve in 2012
Swiss National Bank reveals expected profits for 2012 are less than half the figure for 2011
Disparities emerge in euro counterfeit figures
Figures for euro counterfeits seized in 2012 show wide differences between countries, though not all central banks report totals; ECB unveils security features on new €5 note
Draghi denies calls for rate cut as ECB holds again
European Central Bank's governing council holds rate, as inflation and growth remain steady; Mario Draghi optimistic about growing financial market confidence
Portugal's Costa demands greater European co-ordination
Bank of Portugal governor says individual countries’ adjustment programmes alone are not enough to boost Europe’s growth potential
IMF figures show fall in euro’s share of foreign exchange holdings
Euro-denominated foreign exchange reserve currency claims fell by $8.19 billion in the third quarter of 2012 as developing nations diversify their holdings
Fed’s Stein highlights transatlantic risks
Jeremy Stein discusses situations that may lead to a spike in dollar funding costs for European banks operating in the US; says renewed swap lines and new regulation will help
Target2’s missing settlement mechanism creates systemic risk
In the latest edition of the Central Banking Journal, Hans-Werner Sinn argues the lack of yearly ‘settling up’ in the European Target2 payments system is fuelling major imbalances within Europe
Paper finds flimsy productivity base for banks in Spain
A Bank of Spain working paper says two-thirds of pre-crisis banking productivity growth was attributable to the expansion of mortgage lending, a reliance on short-term finance and leverage
Danish governor laments lack of euro progress
Nils Bernstein says Europe will ‘muddle through’ the crisis, but is concerned that government’s grand promises are yet to deliver a practical solution
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
Ballooning balance sheet yields further ‘profit’ for SNB
Swiss National Bank’s profits show continued growth in third quarter with the largest contribution from foreign exchange holdings; balance sheet has increased 45% during the year
Polish paper says euro would have destabilised economy during crisis
National Bank of Poland research examines how adopting the euro would have changed the impact of the financial crisis; fixed exchange rate would have exposed economy to greater shocks