Governance
People: Trio of deputies appointed at Sri Lankan, Korean and Bahaman central banks
Veteran central bankers appointed at Sri Lankan and Korean institutions; Bank of Bahamas also gets new second in command
Book notes: The Myth of Independence, by Sarah Binder and Mark Spindel
Politicians would do well to heed the authors’ lessons, but their economic analysis could be stronger, writes Niels Bünemann
Banks are scrambling to hit IFRS 9 deadline – survey
Many banks appear to have been caught off-guard by the complexity of adapting to IFRS 9; impact assessments still patchy, but some see provisioning needs up by 40% or more
Allan Meltzer (1928–2017)
Paying tribute to the contributions of the late Allan Meltzer, leading economist and Central Banking Editorial Advisory Board member
Maldives’ governor resigns as country remains in crisis
Governor says she is stepping down to join her husband in New York; country’s parliament is shut down amid political crisis
People: New chairman in Macau; Bosnia appoints vice-governor
Chan Sau San to lead Macau’s monetary authority; Bosnia appoints vice-governor; Nathan Sussman leaves the Bank of Israel after six years as head of research
Court dismisses ‘irrational’ Sarb mandate challenge
Judge finds South African public protector’s attempt to change the Sarb’s mandate was illegal, irrational and unfair
People: Ma Jun departs PBoC; Brazil promotes directors
Chief economist of the PBoC departs central bank for academia; Central Bank of Brazil gets new directors; Andrew Abir to sit on the Bank of Israel’s monetary committee
“What would Allan say?”
Central Banking Publications founder Robert Pringle finds pearls of wisdom in his email correspondence with the late Allan Meltzer
Where have all the women gone?
The number of women working at central banks has increased substantially, but a glass ceiling appears to remain for those reaching for senior management positions
People: IMF official appointed Bank of Ghana deputy; new communications chief for BoE
Former IMF official appointed first deputy at Bank of Ghana; BoE forecasting chief moves into new communications role; and more
Book notes: The Spider Network, by David Enrich
A thrilling exploration of how currency trader Tom Hayes and confederates managed to corrupt the UK banking system in what has become one of the largest financial scandals in history
BoE to appoint ‘conflicts officer’ following review
Compliance review revealed there was a lack of understanding around reporting conflicts of interest; under new framework senior officials will have to report annually
Keith Arnold, Belize's longest-serving governor, dies
Arnold, who served as central bank governor for 10 years in the 1990s, dies at 72; he held three major financial offices
The changing composition of central bank balance sheets
Quantitative easing may have been necessary, but it has created worrying distortions and has probably discouraged structural change, while deflecting attention away from ever-greater levels of debt leverage
Michael Wong Pakshong, 1931–2017
MAS’s first managing director led the institution from a turbulent foundation amid the collapse of Bretton Woods through a challenging period of monetary reform
Australia risks shortage of economists, warns RBA’s Dwyer
Students are tending to choose business studies over economics, says the RBA’s head of information; central bank is trying to reverse the trend
BoE workers walk out over continuing pay dispute
Workers launch first of three days of strike action amid complaint over fairness of pay awards, with possibility of further escalation