Articles by Central Banking Newsdesk
Some Fed officials concerned April hike would ‘signal a sense of urgency’
Minutes from March meeting reveal caution around prospect of a hike this month, given prevailing headwinds and risks; next meeting on April 26–27
BIS’s Shin argues bank capital underpins both monetary policy and financial stability
Research sheds light on tension between bank shareholders and wider society, as high levels of capital support lending and therefore affect the real economy as well as the financial sector
Ingves raises fundamental questions about central banking
Riksbank governor sets out questions around monetary policy and macro-prudential framework in Sweden, raising the prospect of a merger with the FSA and joining the SSM
Norges Bank researchers grapple with nonlinear exchange rate pass-through
Exchange rate pass-through in Norway is unusually high, which the authors suggest could be due to the size of recent currency movements – but pinning down the effect empirically proves difficult
RBA establishes new macro modelling division
External review recommends new approach to “full-system” models at heart of policy analysis, warning modelling expertise is limited at the central bank
Coen looks to wider issues affecting bank resilience
Secretary general of Basel Committee highlights importance of corporate governance and culture, IT systems and stress tests for resilience and profitability
Australian inflation likely to remain low for next two years, governor says
"Accommodative" monetary policy appropriate as GDP picks up, Glenn Steven says
Reserve Bank of India modifies liquidity framework
Rajan spells out plans to “progressively lower” the liquidity deficit in the banking system as part of a broader shift in focus; RBI cuts policy rate by 25bp with inflation on track
Bank of Thailand frets over zero lower bound
Minutes show latest policy decision influenced by worries over financial imbalances and perceived need to maintain “policy space” in event of economic hit
West African union must improve monetary transmission, IMF staff say
The West African Economic and Monetary Union must increase the effectiveness of monetary policy, IMF staff say; reforms should target bank refinancing and government securities markets
ECB had to act to forestall fall in inflation expectations, Praet says
The ECB had to expand its unconventional monetary policy to prevent a downward shift in long-term eurozone inflation expectations, Peter Praet says; inaction of others “no excuse”
Israel must close productivity gap, Flug says
Bank of Israel governor calls on government to work on closing gap with advanced economies, which could boost living standards by a third, she says
Malaysian deputy tells companies to provide ‘more than just a payment solution’
Muhammad bin Ibrahim stresses importance of financial institutions providing “value-added services” to their customers if they are to remain competitive
Chicago and Cleveland Fed presidents back gradual path for rate increases
Charles Evans is “comfortable” with tightening implied by latest round of dot plots; he and Loretta Mester spell out outlooks for growth and inflation and risks surrounding them
Europe set for new Greek clash as Lagarde hits back over leaks
IMF chief has sharp words for the Greek prime minister after staff phone conversation is posted online by Wikileaks; debt relief remains a major sticking point as July repayment looms
Fibre optics raise concentration of forex trading - paper
Barry Eichengreen and co-authors find technological gains from submarine fibre optic cables helped increase the concentration of foreign exchange trading
Tax system severely reduces Italian banks’ profits – paper
Disparities in eurozone countries’ effective tax rates for their banking sectors may threaten banks’ ability to strengthen their capital, a Bank of Italy paper argues
Basel Committee flags further issues with bank modelling
Second study of variation in credit risk modelling using internal ratings-based approach sheds further light on what is causing banks to calculate significantly different capital requirements
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
Dudley hits back at plans to curb Fed discretion
New York Fed chief says plans to force Fed to follow a monetary policy rule would lead to “significant policy errors”; supports transparency, but within bounds
MAS and BoJ announce fintech push
Singaporean and Japanese central banks establish centres aimed at developing hyped sector; describe monetary authorities as ideal "catalysts" for technological development
Canadian economy may find ‘new balance’ at lower potential growth, Patterson says
Hit to the commodities sector likely to have knock-on effects, lowering broader investment and harming potential growth, deputy governor warns
Riksbank paper finds BVAR models can outperform DSGE
Bayesian vector autoregressions often produce better forecasts than judgement-based or DSGE-based options, authors find – but DSGE is still more popular for policy-making
Italian firms' leverage well above average, study finds
Italian non-financial companies’ leverage ratios are significantly above the eurozone average, a working paper shows