Financial Stability
EBA report identifies issues stemming from use of macro-prudential tools to date
Survey of European use of macro-prudential tools to date reveals problems of overlaps and double counting, interaction with micro tools and bewildering diversity
Apra toughens mortgage risk weights for Australian banks
Australian regulator's move to end era of low home loan risk weights helps push banks toward top quartile for capital ratio
ECB raises concerns over Greece’s draft resolution law
Hastily assembled legal opinion on draft law warns of possible detrimental effects on the Bank of Greece, including impact on independence, increased liability and ‘operational burden’
Greece uses bridge loan to repay IMF and ECB
Loan received today used immediately to repay debts, while government works to unlock full bailout; Ben Bernanke joins debate with criticism of German trade surplus
Bundesbank paper tracks causes of financial crisis balance sheet contraction
Working paper identifies characteristics and behaviour that had a dampening effect on German banks during the 2008 crisis, noting the importance of taking a nuanced view
BIS annual report launches new line of attack on old fears
Analysis of financial cycles creates a new opportunity to drive home fears about rates being too low for too long – but are central banks listening?
First cross-border repo executed in Chinese bond market
ICBC's Singapore branch raises 200 million yuan on China's interbank bond market in first deal since PBoC scrapped limits on offshore access to $5.7tn market earlier this year
CCPs urged to implement liquidity risk charge
Quant Congress USA: liquidity charge might have exposed London Whale, academic claims
IMF researchers find FX interventions can help tackle pressures from global capital flows
Working paper penned by team including Olivier Blanchard takes new approach to endogeneity problems, finding foreign exchange interventions can stem appreciation pressures from global flows of capital
Fischer laments lack of coordination between US regulators
Fed vice-chair says most countries manage to supervise their financial systems in a more cooperative manner than in the US, but he holds little hope for change in the near future
Iceland offers pension funds relief from capital controls
Pension funds will have access to a limited amount of foreign currency in an effort to smooth the transition as controls are lifted
Fed economist sees gaps in CCP risk management
Quant Congress USA: CCPs struggle to model conditional losses and auction behaviour
IMF economists release study on LTV and DTI limits in six countries
Working paper studies the implementation and effectiveness of loan-to-value and debt-service-to-income limits in Brazil, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Poland, Romania and South Korea
ECB lifts veil on ELA as it raises Greek cap
No action on monetary policy but governing council extends further lifeline to Greek banks; Draghi admits policy of keeping emergency liquidity secret is unnecessary in a systemic crisis
Israel’s Flug wants to shine light on ‘grey market’
The alternative financing market, composed of both law-abiding and criminal elements, needs to be shrunk and brought under the supervisory spotlight, says Bank of Israel's governor
BoE’s Miles cautions against use of policy rate for financial stability ends
Use of monetary policy to tackle financial stability goals is less efficient than setting higher capital requirements, outgoing MPC member says
IMF calls for Greek debt relief ‘far beyond’ EU plans
Memo warns public debt is ‘highly unsustainable’ and European leaders will need to provide much greater debt relief than they have discussed up to this point
UK’s Treasury Committee raises concerns over FPC accountability
MPs question whether Financial Policy Committee discussions are adequately represented by meeting records; wide-ranging discussion takes in liquidity issues, 'too big to fail' and stress testing
Greek bank holiday sparks swaps contract chaos
Extended bank closure leaves derivatives payments by end-users in limbo
US report finds ‘no single cause’ of October 15 volatility in Treasury market
Staff from five bodies, including the Fed board of governors and New York Fed, analyse data from unusual bout of volatility in the US Treasury market last year
Kuwaiti banks perform well under stress, report shows
Banks in Kuwait showed resilience during stress tests and strengthened their balance sheets in 2014, financial stability report shows; conventional banks more cost-efficient than Islamic
Dutch bulletin: T2S can only succeed if ‘many’ CSDs sign up
The Netherlands Bank's latest bulletin highlights the importance of more CSDs in Europe signing up to the Target2-Securities platform since the initial migration in June
Zimbabwean governor says banks more stable
John Mangudya says the banking sector ‘remains safe and sound’ after the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe moved to address credit risk and liquidity constraints
European leaders strike Greek deal but hurdles remain
All-night session ends in Greece agreeing to a tough reform package, but finance ministers continue to debate possible bridge financing and national parliaments must still give green light