Sterling
Sovereign green bonds: the reserve portfolio’s panacea?
German, Swedish, Danish and UK debt managers speak to Victor Mendez-Barreira about ‘twin bonds’ and other efforts to solve green bond liquidity concerns
IMF boosts dollar and renminbi weights in new SDR valuation
Euro records largest drop, while yen and sterling decline slightly
Book notes: Robert Triffin, by Ivo Maes with Ilaria Pasotti
Triffin’s story is well told by Maes, whose extensive personal and academic research shines through on page after page
The IMF’s $650bn SDR allocation and a future ‘digital SDR’
Focus is needed on widening SDR use in payments and the creation of a ‘digital SDR’, to support a large allocation of ‘official’ IMF SDRs, writes Warren Coats
Charles Goodhart on inflation targets, financial stability and the role of money
The LSE professor says inflation targets should have been 0%, the Fed’s move to AIT is a mistake, independence is under threat from inflation, big balance sheets support liquidity, AI can help supervisors and climate stress tests are unconvincing
BIS to operate sterling liquidity facility backed by BoE
Move echoes 20th century arrangements when BIS acted as intermediary in swaps network
Lifetime achievement: Charles Goodhart
The LSE and BoE veteran economist has his own ‘law’, and played a key role in the establishment of monetary policy in the UK, Hong Kong’s peg and the ‘New Zealand model’, which influenced a generation of central bankers
Book notes: The political economy of the special relationship, by Jeremy Green
Unsatisfactory story about the decline and resurgence of the UK’s importance in the global financial system
New Isda ‘fallbacks’ critical to making Libor transition a ‘non-event’
New protocol and supplement offer a transition away from Libor rates in 2021, despite CFTC saying 2,400 companies still exposed and Fed extending some US libor contracts until mid-2023
An end to the loveless marriage with the US dollar?
Covid-19 represents an unexpected shock that could cause further US dollar decoupling, which could show up in next week’s Cofer data release, writes Gary Smith
Sterling swap traders brace for new Sonia switch deadline
Covid delays force regulators to set new date for interdealer swap market to price off RFR
BoE’s Hauser: Covid-19 forced “largest and fastest” actions ever
Executive director gives blow-by-blow account of how the BoE tackled the Covid-19 crisis in the markets
Libra’s Disparte on big tech’s move into digital currency
Libra Association vice-chair Dante Disparte speaks about the decision to abandon a multi-currency reserve, stress-testing a global payment network and how the Facebook-backed body still has 3 billion customers in its sights
Lifetime achievement award: Otmar Issing
The architect of the euro’s monetary operating framework is still playing an important role in shaping the debate on monetary policy
Custody initiative: Euroclear
The securities depository has debuted instant dollar settlement in central bank money outside the US – a service that has virtually eliminated settlement risk
Governor of the year: Mark Carney
Carney has played a vital role in managing Brexit risks while driving efforts towards climate, payments and dollar funding reform
Sterling’s fall boosted UK inflation - San Fran Fed paper
Prices of tradeable goods rose significantly more than non-tradable goods, researchers find
BoE’s Ramsden calls time on Libor use
Deputy governor says progress on transition to Sonia benchmark needs to accelerate
How Singapore manages its reserves
MAS managing director Ravi Menon explains Singapore’s total approach to reserve management, which includes the use of customised fixed income benchmarks and tapping into external investment expertise
Central banks disagree over cash regulation
The BoE has issued legislation demanding banks supply certain denominations, but other regulators remain on the fence about how they should manage the future of cash
Canadian deputy governor explains reserves regime
Floating exchange rate, asset-liability matching and liquidity focus do not demand bigger portfolio
Central bank of the year: Monetary Authority of Singapore
Singapore’s central bank stands out for its pioneering fintech efforts combined with its consistency of performance in monetary policy, financial stability and supervision
Brexit unlikely to affect sterling’s reserve currency status
No-deal scenario could put major downward pressure on the currency
Key Brexit vote complicates outlook for UK economy
Vote this evening leaves UK’s political and economic future uncertain; analysts optimistic on outlook for sterling