Articles by Central Banking Newsdesk
East African central banks take different approaches to rising inflation
Bank of Uganda hikes key rate by 100bp to 12% as food shortages push crop prices up by 16% in August; Central Bank of Kenya dismisses own inflationary pressures and holds rates
German voters want to keep the euro - but not to save it, poll finds
Two-thirds do not believe the next chancellor has mandate to support eurozone countries financially after the September 22 elections; a third supports break up of eurozone and return to deutschmark
Financial contagion function of reputation rather than size of banks
Bank clustering and large in-coming interbank loan more important than leverage ratios, while central bank intervention reduce contagion only slightly, Bank of Finland discussion paper finds
Ireland economists construct new business-cycle indicator
Economic letter published by Central Bank of Ireland presents an indicator to provide policy-makers with ‘real-time’ signals; index has declined in recent months as domestic demand remains weak
German banks move to lower-risk sovereign bonds
Deutsche Bundesbank discussion paper investigates banks exposures to sovereign debt and finds they are increasingly investing in bonds from larger countries with lower inflation
Segmented structure of Russian interbank market leads to volatile interest rates
Liquidity-absorbing and liquidity-provision operations are conducted by the biggest banks, reducing credit risk but also restraining market development, according to Bank of Finland discussion paper
Polish paper presents new method for constructing fan charts
Fan charts are an increasingly popular tool for depicting forecasts; working paper proposes a new method for formulating the charts that incorporates 'a mix of judgment and statistics'
Sovereign default spreads drove European bank risk exposures during crisis
Systemic risk of European banks reached its height in late 2011 at around €500 billion, based on a measure introduced in a recent Fed working paper
IMF paper finds less tail risk in immediate aftermath of QE
IMF working paper finds ‘strong evidence' that unconventional monetary policy led to a reduction in market uncertainty, in turn contributing to an easing in financial conditions
Fed struggles with same issues as 100 years ago, says Lacker
There has been a debate over which assets the Fed should hold since its founding in 1913, Richmond Fed president Jeffrey Lacker says
ECB's Mersch calls for clearer separation of powers in bank resolution framework
European Central Bank executive board member believes current agreement in Europe on a resolution framework - 'decentralisation plus discretion' - is 'the wrong combination'
Bank Negara Malaysia strikes deals with AFI and HKMA
Malaysian central bank joins forces with the Alliance for Financial Inclusion to develop global capacity-building programmes; will work with HKMA on offshore renminbi business development
Corporate performance data central to understanding inflation dynamics
RBI's Deepak Mohanty says balance-sheet data enhances financial stability by shining light on corporate leverage ratios and unhedged foreign currency loans
Bank portfolios flush with long-term assets exposed to interest rate risk as rates rise
FDIC's Gruenberg says banks' asset quality and loan balances have improved and fewer lenders are failing, but reach for yield may pose problems as interest rates return to more normal levels
Prasarn hails prudent policies allowing Thailand to weather storm
Thailand's international reserves have meant the central bank has not had to raise interest rates to prop up the currency, says governor; hails ‘credible' monetary policy for ‘fostering growth and stability'
Decline in expected real interest rates 'key' to Japanese growth
Kikuo Iwata says inflation expectations will raise aggregate demand through the transmission mechanism of lower real interest rates; calls change in public mindset key to policy success
People: Bank of Finland appoints head of monetary policy; Cleveland branch gets new vice-president
Tuomas Välimäki is Bank of Finland's new head of monetary policy and research; Guhan Venkatu takes over from Robert Schaub as president of Cleveland Fed's Pittsburgh branch; and more
Irish households exhibit ‘relatively large' wealth effect from housing
Housing wealth effect particularly strong for Irish households in negative equity, central bank researchers find
Reserve accumulation enhances welfare if coupled with capital controls
Foreign reserve accumulation is part and parcel of a growth strategy based on strong capital investment in a financially constrained economy, according to a Banque de France research paper
Canada deputy says QE exit may be ‘more benign’ than critics fear
Despite Canada’s close ties to the US, Bank of Canada deputy governor John Murray believes tapering of Fed asset purchases will have less of a negative impact than many pundits fear
Bank of Jamaica will continue to tighten liquidity conditions
Governor Brian Wynter says central bank will keep on issuing ‘special securities’ to ensure exchange rate stability; unconcerned by recent increases in inflation rate
Forward guidance successful in mitigating downside risks to price stability
Provision of time-based forward guidance reduces downside price stability risks but may result in upside risks during the medium term, finds ECB working paper
RBA payments head hails ‘hub-based’ retail payments platform
Reserve Bank of Australia’s Tony Richards delivers update on country’s new payments platform and the central bank’s work towards a faster settlement system
Adherence to Islamic financing principles could benefit credit unions
Islamic savings products would make institutions more resilient, and possibly strengthen incentives for good governance, IMF working paper argues