Financial Stability
Ukrainian central bank warns over ‘lengthy delay’ to IMF aid
National Bank of Ukraine calls for urgent action on state-owned banks; governor’s post remains unfilled
Lagarde warns of recessions in African economies
Some countries’ GDP due to shrink despite headline growth, IMF chief warns
Iran needs financial sector reform – IMF staff
Central bank should have greater independence and supervisory powers, urge IMF staff
Bank of Canada is focusing on household debt levels, governor says
Governor says levels of debt keep him awake at night
MAS expands consumer debt management toolkit
New measure caps “unsecured credit” that banks can offer indebted borrowers; it is a “pre-emptive measure”, says MAS official
EBA publishes NPL standards in bid to foster market
Reporting templates ask for granular data in bid to establish EU dataset
Russian central bank bails out country’s ninth-largest lender
Move is sign of continuing squeeze on private banks, observers say; Bank of Russia also cuts policy rates for fourth time in 2017
Credit no longer supporting Chinese growth – research
China’s economy has become “saturated with credit”, argues IMF research paper, with fiscal stimulus primarily boosting manufacturing
Stress tests find vulnerabilities in European pension funds
More than a quarter of institutions could not fulfil their commitments following an adverse scenario
National Payment Gateway launched in Indonesia
New national platform to consolidate fragmented infrastructure, reducing costs and improving efficiency
IMF concerned about Tanzanian NPL levels
Addressing financial sector vulnerabilities should be a “priority”, as high NPL levels start to restrict lending to the private sector
Reforms helped oil states weather shock – Kuwaiti governor
Governor says banks may not have fared so well without regulatory reforms; he says operational risks rules may need adjustment in face of cyber attacks
Malaysia’s Ibrahim warns of costs of not turning digital
Bank Negara governor outlines plans to push consumers towards e-payments, as the cost of cheque processing weighs on the economy
Russian central bank becomes sole shareholder in failed bank
Central bank injects approximately $7.7 billion into Otkritie
Financial distress in the US is concentrated in a small percentage of consumers
Around 10% of consumers account for 50% of all distress events, research finds
Mortgage modifications were key to cutting Irish NPLs
Scale of modifications was larger than previously thought, research finds
Quick action needed to tackle housing busts – RBNZ paper
Paper studies housing busts around the world and how best to respond to them
High private debt imperils financial stability in Norway, research finds
Households most at risk of shrinking their expenditure account for 50% of private consumption
Fed finalises new market benchmarks
Three transaction-based alternatives to US dollar Libor will launch in 2018
FCA mulls use of AI to tackle money laundering
Crime unit head says the financial regulator views machine learning as a complement to human judgement, not a replacement
IMF warns Chinese banks are undercapitalised
The IMF report highlights the insufficient capital of Chinese banks, conflicting tensions of growth and stability, and the financial system’s complexity
Fed proposes sharing more information about stress tests
Proposal includes insights about how the regulator estimates hypothetical losses