Reserves
Sarb sets out five-year strategy in annual report
Central bank outlines objectives to be achieved by 2020, including around reserves, inflation and counterfeiting; while governor praises progress of financial stability bill
Steps still needed for renminbi to become reserve currency – BIS head of banking
BIS’s Zöllner considers whether renminbi will become reserve currency; continued modernisation of market infrastructure needed, he says
Chile expands dollar holdings, central bank annual report shows
Central Bank of Chile reserve allocations in euro, Canadian dollar and Australian dollar fall, as dollar holdings rise
Divergent monetary policies are top concern for reserve managers in 2016
Reserve managers view divergent monetary policies among the world’s top central banks as the most pressing challenge they face in 2016; asset and currency diversification continues
IMF approves larger credit line to Mexico
Fund expands flexible credit line arrangement to $88 billion; confident Mexico's policies "will remain strong"
Central Bank of Argentina raises reserve requirements
Argentina raises reserve requirements as it continues to fight high inflation; bank will introduce inflation-targeting regime in September
More ‘flexible’ Nigerian exchange rate regime met with cautious optimism
Central bank announces intention to move to more flexible regime, though exact parameters not yet announced; analysts seem hopeful about the move but lack of details is worrying
Italian paper looks at ECB’s reserve management
Bank of Italy working paper studies the management of the ECB’s foreign exchange reserves; diversity of managers’ investment styles may positively affect risk-adjusted returns, authors say
Bank of Mexico to send government 239 billion pesos on back of reserve gains
Some 70% of surplus to be used to pay off outstanding government debt or reduce new issuance, while the remaining money will be used to support stabilisation fund
Operational reform has not impacted longer term rates, BoE working paper says
Reserve averaging and reserve targets reduced volatility in overnight rate but had little impact on longer-term rates, research finds
IMF staff raise concerns over Nigeria’s FX regime
Report voices worries about unintended consequences of FX restrictions, calling for more flexibility in exchange rate; Nigeria's authorities insist measures are temporary
Central bank gold purchases near record levels
World Gold Council argues negative interest rates make gold a favourable asset, but Thomson Reuters team sees other factors at play
Maechler says SNB plans to wield hefty balance sheet to encourage good governance
Swiss National Bank’s balance sheet has ballooned following currency interventions, leading to the question of what to do with the newly acquired assets
SNB made investment ‘innovations’ in 2015, report says
Central bank made first investments in new assets and began to wield voting rights to influence corporate governance in 2015, annual report shows
Equities support Danish central bank's profits in 2015
Move into riskier assets contributes to profits in 2015, in addition to significant returns from defending the krone; costs are also on the rise following major IT project
Renminbi to be identified in IMF Cofer database
IMF countries able to record renminbi holdings from October; inclusion in database recognises "continuing internationalisation" of currency, staff say
Sarb’s Lesetja Kganyago on divergent monetary policies and new supervision
The governor of the South African Reserve Bank talks to Christopher Jeffery about navigating divergent monetary policies, South Africa’s new supervisory regime and nurturing new talent
Eurosystem reveals rules on national asset holdings
ECB publishes an agreement governing the size of ‘non-monetary policy holdings’ at national central banks in the eurozone; aggregate net financial assets totalled €490 billion at end-2015
Bundesbank over halfway towards gold repatriation goal
Deutsche Bundesbank repatriated 210 tonnes of gold in 2015, it says; 41% of gold reserves now housed in Frankfurt
Sarb deputy sees opportunity for reserve managers in Fed hike
Daniel Mminele encourages reserve managers to focus on the ‘investment horizon’ to take advantage of higher yields in the wake of Fed action
Trinidad governor implies $500m injection failed to solve US dollar shortfall
Trinidad and Tobago’s Jwala Rambarran says domestic economy faces ongoing shortfalls of US dollars despite $14 billion in official sector forex assets; calls for diversification in the economy
BIS paper uncovers new evidence on FX reserve and capital flow link
Paper argues role of domestic investors is key to properly understanding how foreign exchange reserves can dampen volatile capital movements
IMF reveals Cofer submitters but scraps advanced-emerging breakdown
Fund reveals 96 economies submitting their reserves breakdown to the Cofer database, in the name of transparency – but axes breakdown of advanced/emerging economies for fear of revealing too much
Philippines reserves up by $100m in second quarter
Drop in net foreign lending prompts balance of payments surplus to surge by 145% year-on-year; FDI increases by $424 million, slightly lower than Q2 2014