Financial Stability
Deputy: Canada could keep new OMOs post crisis
Bank of Canada’s David Longworth says crisis-fighting operations could stay part of central bank’s toolkit
No new Bretton Woods: Ex-BIS head
Former general manager of Bank for International Settlements says world now too pluralistic
ECCB sued by Stanford investors
Eastern Caribbean Central Bank faces class-action from investors who allege the value of Bank of Antigua, seized by the central bank last year, is rightfully theirs
Switzerland delays new banknote series
Swiss National Bank says move made on back of security concerns
Libya opens doors to foreign banks
Libyan central bank welcomes overseas institutions interested in setting up a subsidiary, says ongoing reforms and strong economic performance offer great prospects for banks
Investors confident in Ireland’s budget cuts: Honohan
Irish central bank governor Patrick Honohan says the proof of investor confidence in the country’s plans for fiscal consolidation is in the interest rates on government paper
Banks not withholding credit: Richmond Fed’s Lacker
Richmond Fed president Jeffrey Lacker says the banking system as a whole was supplying a reasonable amount of credit, adds that despite improvements economy remained weak in the real estate sector and employment
Three things you should know about Chiang Mai
The Chiang Mai initiative has cemented Asian financial stability. Jayant Menon, a principal economist at the Asian Development Bank, highlights three key themes to take from the project
Iceland can afford to repay UK and Holland: MPC member
Icelandic rate-setter says country neither too small nor weak to make Icesave repayments, but criticises “ungenerous” deal given by British and Dutch governments
US real-estate concern goes global
Reserve Bank of Australia assistant governor Guy Debelle says US commercial real estate woes may impose further crippling losses on banks
Governors back greater role for monetary aggregates
Christian Noyer, Glenn Stevens and Duvurri Subbarao say more attention must be paid on monetary aggregates
Norwegian housing finance still underdeveloped: Gjedrem
Norges Bank governor Svein Gjedrem says variable-rate mortgages still account for too large a part of the housing finance market
“We failed the system”: Carney at RBI panel
Governors including Canada’s Mark Carney and India’s Duvvuri Subbarao point to imbalances as root cause of the crisis, but skirt around concerns over the dollar
Germans in favour of kicking Greece out: poll
Survey in leading newspaper shows 53% of Germans think Greece should be kicked out of the eurozone if its debt troubles cannot be resolved, 67% want no part in a bail-out
ECB beefs up financial stability wing
European Central Bank readies itself for the establishment of European Systemic Risk Board; appoints director general
FSA’s Turner queries faith in deep and liquid markets
Britain’s top regulator calls for a conservative approach to liquidity, arguing that excessive financial activity is liable to do more damage than good
Riksbank’s Nyberg: cards systemically important
Riksbank’s Lars Nyber says cards are overtaking cash in Nordic countries, but security still an issue
British regulator asks for 10% more funds
Financial Services Authority puts bulk of responsibility to pay up on the bigger banks
British PM heralds global bank levy
British prime minister Gordon Brown flags growing consensus among leaders on a global bank tax following Obama proposals
India’s Gokarn rules out March hikes
Reserve Bank of India’s Subir Gokarn emphasises that, barring extraordinary circumstances, the central bank will not raise rates before April; central bank cracks down on PayPal
Community banks remain crucial for US economy
Chicago Federal Reserve summarises its conference on the impact of the financial crisis on community banks
Ex-Bank deputy wants shift in monetary policy remit
Former Bank of England deputy governor and Financial Services Authority chairman Howard Davies calls for central banks to broaden ambit of monetary policy; insists supervision best handled outside the central bank
Kenya gets first credit-reference bureau
Central bank governor Njuguna Ndung’u says credit bureaux will increase the availability and lower the cost of loans for borrowers
BIS’s Caruana: central banks up to stability task
Bank for International Settlements’ Jaime Caruana says crisis highlighted the prominent role central banks should have in financial stability policy