Financial Stability
Hong Kong plans to regulate credit-rating agencies
Hong Kong announces it will begin regulating credit-rating agencies from June; agencies and analysts must apply for licences
IMF paper on enhancing stress-test framework
Fund study examines simple techniques to improve risk sensitivity in bank stress test exercises
National Bank of Belgium – Consumer Survey (April 2011)
National Bank of Belgium April 2011 Consumer Survey shows pick-up in consumer confidence in April
Financial cycles have strong economic implications: IMF paper
Fund study examines whether the close correlation between business and financial cycles is synchronised or coincidental
Bank of England – Trends in Lending (April 2011)
Bank of England’s Trends in Lending April 2011 report finds evidence of a contraction in UK bank lending
Role of Fannie, Freddie failure in crisis has been underplayed: ex-Fed’s Warsh
Recently departed governor Kevin Warsh tells Central Banking that decision to take government-sponsored enterprises into state ownership had significant ramifications
Greece’s Provopoulos urges step up in public reforms
Bank of Greece governor George Provopoulos calls for government to boost Greek reform policies
Overdraft surveys reduce balances in the red: Philly Fed paper
Philadelphia Federal Reserve study examines impact of overdraft surveys on bank balances
BoE stability committee sets June date for first meet
Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee to meet in mid-June; governor to hold press conference
Lithuania’s new governor outlines challenges ahead
Well-balanced, sustainable growth the priority, Vitas Vasiliauskas, new governor of the Bank of Lithuania, tells CentralBanking.com; plays down meeting Maastricht criteria
Austria’s Ittner calls on domestic banks to raise capital buffers
National Bank of Austria executive director Andreas Ittner says country’s largest banks will need to raise their Tier I capital ratio to meet foreign competition
Singapore challenges Hong Kong over global yuan hub status
Singapore agrees to open Chinese bank to clear yuan trades; Hong Kong’s plans to become centre for offshore yuan trade at risk
RBI’s Subbarao: IMF capital control proposals lack flexibility
Reserve Bank of India governor Duvvuri Subbarao says IMF proposals on capital controls leaves little room for policymakers to exercise discretion
Algeria’s Laksaci warns against advanced economy risks
Bank of Algeria governor Mohammed Laksaci says sluggish growth in advanced economies is creating uncertainty over global recovery
Lehman crisis could have been averted with Dodd-Frank: FDIC
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation report says orderly resolution powers in Dodd-Frank Act could have allowed for orderly wind-down of failed investment bank Lehman Brothers
Officials gather in DC for IMF/World Bank spring meet
IMF/World Bank spring meetings address global economy and financial stability, governance progress and Japanese disaster
Ireland’s central bank failed to alert regulators to mounting crisis: banking report
Ireland’s Commission of Investigation into banking crisis says Central Bank of Ireland missed opportunities to alert regulators to impending risks in banking sector
Ethiopia’s Atnafu calls IMF to sharpen focus on LICs
National Bank of Ethiopia governor Teklewold Atnafu calls for Fund to scale up resources in lower-income countries
Portfolio correlation bias poses systemic threat: IMF paper
Fund paper finds evidence of systemic threat associated with correlation bias in allocation of investment funds
Malaysia’s Jaganathan highlights importance of supervision on insurance firms
Bank Negara Malaysia assistant governor Donald Jaganathan says insurance firms are not insulated from uncertainties of financial system
Brazil slams IMF proposal on capital controls
Brazil’s finance minister Guido Mantega rejects IMF proposals for establishment of framework on capital controls; attacks Fund’s laissez-faire policy on capital movements
G-20 agrees guidelines to identify imbalances
G-20 representatives move forward with plans to establish guidelines to measure economic imbalances
PboC’s Yi warns advanced economies about risks to recovery
People's Bank of China deputy governor Yi Gang says advanced countries should not lose focus on growing vulnerabilities in financial sector
IMF’s Strauss-Kahn fears mounting social crisis
IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn says high unemployment and inequality risk developing into social crisis