Monetary policy
Improved political environment lends support to Lebanese pound
As new government is formed, investors become more willing to sell dollars and buy pound
PBoC handed leading role in macro-prudential policy
Shake-up of PBoC’s governance structure sees central bank gain macro-prudential department
‘Global inflation gap’ points to slack across advanced economies – paper
Authors find no evidence that inflation is “on the brink of surging ahead”
Chilean central bank hikes rates
Rate rise comes despite US Fed holding rates on January 30
Kazakh president piles pressure on central bank to boost growth
Autocratic ruler berates ministers and central bank chief over banks and growth rates
Bank of Albania must resolve policy transmission issues – IMF
Issues with monetary policy transmission are obstructing efforts to hit inflation target
Bank of Ghana slashes further 100bp from policy rate
Action follows similar move in 2018, as inflation declines into the target range
Central bank gold purchases soar to highest level since 1971
Russia, Turkey and Kazakhstan accumulated the most gold in 2018
Fed takes dovish stance as it clarifies long-run monetary policy
New statement seeks to clarify Fed’s balance sheet normalisation strategy
Riksbank open to reassessing normalisation if needed – af Jochnick
Sweden’s central bank increased rates in December 2018 for the first time since 2011
ECB to launch market expectations survey
Study aims to gather information on participants' views on future monetary policy evolution
Turkish central bank sees inflation outlook improving
Inflation undershot forecasts in latest period, having overshot them earlier in 2018
Bangladesh Bank eyes national savings imbalances
Growth is high and inflation “contained”, but high-yield products are draining deposits from banks
Central Banking Awards: third round goes live
Prizes unveiled for economics, website, risk management, professional services, data and more
BoE opens doors for debate on the future of central banking
Event breaks new ground in central bank engagement with the public; participants offer both positive and negative feedback
QE reduces inequality over medium term – Bank of Canada paper
Eurozone inequality rose after QE introduced but then fell, researchers find
Economics in central banking: Greg Kaplan, Benjamin Moll and Gianluca Violante
Authors’ paper, ‘Monetary policy according to Hank’, boosts the realism of core economic models, delivering important insights into inequality and the transmission of monetary policy
Website of the year: Sveriges Riksbank
The Swedish central bank has redesigned and restructured its website to great effect, with users staying longer and engaging with more content
Risk management technology: Vermeg
Having successfully delivered the collateral management module of its Megara system to four major central banks, Vermeg has won a high-profile tender to deliver the technology for the Eurosystem Collateral Management System
Norges Bank leaves rates unchanged
Central bank says it is still likely to hike rates in March 2019
Only Fed could respond to fresh downturn, Axel Weber says
Most central banks have no room for manoeuvre, says former Bundesbank president
Riksbank’s normalisation faces darker global outlook
Looser stance in the US and eurozone may hamper new hikes in Sweden
Korea’s sluggish economy dampens growth prospects
Bank of Korea revises growth forecasts and leaves interest rates on hold
BoJ cuts inflation forecast in fourth consecutive outlook report
Central bank maintains interest rates and yield curve control