Articles by Central Banking Newsdesk
Sri Lankan central bank reveals inflation spike in 2012
Sri Lankan annual report says economic growth, while still strong, fell in 2012 while inflation rose sharply; central bank increased reserves by 15%
FDIC vice-chair says Basel III capital requirements provide illusion of safety
Thomas Hoenig says capital ratios allow banks to leverage up while outwardly appearing safe; warns systemically important banks have much worse leverage ratios than smaller institutions
IMF says independent central banks have ‘muzzled’ the inflation threat
World Economic Outlook says central banks have little reason to fear inflation resulting from loose policy – so long as their independence is upheld
FOMC members saw QE continuing ‘through midyear’ at March meeting
Participants at the FOMC’s last meeting broadly agreed to continue QE at existing pace ‘through midyear’ but failed to reach a consensus on when to slow asset purchases
Emirates central bank to introduce direct debit system
Central Bank of UAE to bring in direct debit system to allow payment in instalments without the need for post-dated cheques
Norwegian authorities chase benchmark rate reform
Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway proposes new framework for Norwegian Interbank Offered Rate-setting process; central bank looks to push envelope further
Polish paper scrutinises interest rate holds
Research finds that central banks keep interest rates unchanged on majority of occasions; proposes model that distinguishes between rate-holds in period of tightening, easing and neutrality
BIS' Caruana warns low rate environment allows reforms to be postponed
BIS chief warns regulators may be 'fighting the last war', and calls for central bankers to push for 'a return to sustainable government finances'
Ireland’s financial regulator quits central bank
Deputy governor for financial regulation announces departure to ‘pursue other interests’; term spanned turbulent period for Ireland’s economy
New model prescribes strongly counter-cyclical medicine for financial shocks
Working paper from the Bank of Canada suggests counter-cyclical bank capital rules can help steady the ship in the wake of financial shocks, in tandem with monetary policy measures
BoJ minutes reveal tensions over asset purchase programme
Minutes of final meeting under governor Masaaki Shirakawa show disagreement over whether to loosen policy further, including changes to quantitative easing
ECB paper examines shifts in fiscal regimes
Study finds responsibility for stabilising debt levels has swung between monetary and fiscal authorities in UK, Germany and Italy; most clearly defined in UK
FSB to assess efforts to end ‘mechanistic reliance’ on credit ratings
Peer reviews aim to hasten a move away from rating agencies, with countries expected to eliminate references to credit ratings from laws and encourage better internal credit risk assessments
IMF and Sarb push for stronger systemic supervision in Africa
Joint effort to highlight importance of macro-prudential approach in addition to scrutiny of individual institutions; IMF pushing for tighter supervision
Accumulating reserves to guard against inflation is 'misplaced'
Researchers at Bofit institute find that using reserves as a ‘bulwark against goods price inflation' is a mistake; say best protection against costly reserves accumulation is flexible exchange rate
Lagarde fears ‘unintended consequences’ of monetary easing
IMF managing director fears side effects from low interest rates and asset purchases; says there is a limit to the share of the burden of recovery that monetary policy can take
Asean pioneers lay foundation for economic union with capital markets move
Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore press ahead with capital markets integration in bid to jump-start Asian Economic Community
Payment pricing preventing electronic migration in Ireland
Article in central bank’s quarterly bulletin finds Ireland could save €1 billion by switching from cheques to a more efficient payment instrument
Chilean paper finds room to reduce risk by diversifying investment in Brics
Statistical analysis finds little co-integration of stock market vectors in Latin America and the Bric countries; says this gives investors a good opportunity to diversify, which would reduce risk
Reserve managers expanding into riskier assets, survey finds
Latest Reserve Management Trends reveal central banks are moving into ‘non-traditional' currencies; growing number of reserve managers investing, or considering investing, in equities
Fed tightens rules for retail forex banking
Federal Reserve publishes final rules for banks engaging in foreign exchange transactions with retail customers; includes requirements for risk disclosures, good conduct, capitalisation and margining
IMF paper uses monetary model to explain term premium
Study says central bank supply of liquidity influences asset prices; argues that this relationship can explain greater proportion of term premium than non-monetary models
Contribution of Irish financial sector to GDP ‘overstated’
Paper questions the statistical methodology behind claim that Irish financial sector contributes €15 billion to country’s output
US non-farm payroll stats strengthen case for more QE
Boston Fed president joins calls to continue QE programme as US employment recovery falters