Foreign exchange
Argentine central bank freezes banks’ FX purchases
BCRA order comes amid a falling peso, IMF talks and mid-term elections
Poland raises policy rate by 75 basis points
National Bank cites high inflation, which it expects to linger through 2022
Saudi Arabia gives $3 billion to Egyptian central bank
Donation is pandemic aid, and follows similar deposit with Pakistan central bank
Saudi Arabia boosts Pakistan’s reserves
Package from Saudi development fund comes as Pakistan’s balance of payments issues ease
Nigeria launches ‘digital naira’ pilot
Central bank issues $1.2 million in retail CBDC after clampdown on private crypto
Europe leads on gold lending and swaps
Just over 20% of central banks engage in these operations
Investment committees play dual reserve benchmark roles
Final decision made by committees at half of responding central banks
Chilean president grants Marcel new term as governor
Central bank leader faces continued challenges from pandemic and rapid political change
Iranian court sentences former governor to 10 years in prison
Valiollah Seif convicted of currency offences, but reportedly remains free pending appeal
Brazil central bank spends $1bn to support real
Local currency has declined more than 10% against the dollar since June
Uruguayan central bank makes second rate increase in a row
Central bank aims to end “expansive” monetary policy and guide inflation to target range
Iran appoints third governor this year
Ali Salehabadi joins central bank three months after predecessor took office
Many central banks are sole macro-pru agency
Two-thirds of respondents say central bank alone can impose macro-prudential restrictions
Turkey raises banks’ gold and FX reserve levels
Central bank announces work with state-owned organisations on prototype CBDC
Majority of central banks have power to issue debt for monetary purposes
Central banks pointed to draining liquidity as a reason for issuing debt
FX market intervention key tool for emerging market economies
Central bank markets departments perform a wide range of different roles
Myanmar authorities shut banks amid growing crisis, report says
Private banks closed from August 16 to August 22 amid ongoing cash crisis, reports allege
From Covid‑19 recovery to a greener economy
BNP Paribas asks, in a world challenged by the Covid‑19 pandemic and empowered by recovery from it, what’s next for the central banking sector? Also discussing how banks and central banks can collaborate to encourage sustainable growth and build a better…
Fixing market-based finance: duct tape or deep reform?
Central banks are increasingly having to act as market-makers of last resort. But deeper reforms may be needed to avoid stretching their balance sheets to breaking point
Less chance of “taper tantrum” in emerging markets – Dallas Fed paper
Emerging markets have larger dollar reserves to meet financing disruptions
Majority of retail payment systems lack real-time processing and settlement
Over half of RPSs in emerging market economies were owned by central banks, but in advanced economies this fell to less than a quarter
Lebanese politicians condemn governor for ending fuel subsidy
Salameh says he will not resume subsidy unless parliament allows use of mandatory reserves
SNB research highlights trade-offs in use of capital controls
Financial stability benefits come at cost of curbing job creation, authors find
Book notes: The pay off, by Gottfried Leibbrandt and Natasha de Terán
A timely introduction to and accessible survey of payment system developments