FMI
US Treasury's cyber chief lays out cyber security blueprint
Julia Philipp recommends targeted defences, data sharing and response planning, at OpRisk North America conference
BoE and ECB strike deal on CCP cooperation
Central banks agree to information exchange and provision of cross-border liquidity in a crisis as the UK government drops two outstanding cases against the ECB
Counterfeiting rate ‘extremely low’ for Canadian polymer notes
Bank of Canada’s polymer series now comprises 75% of the banknotes in circulation, and is subject to a counterfeiting rate of just 0.56 parts per million
UK payments regulator set for launch
PSR outlines its approach ready for start of regulation on April 1, including plans to work more closely with the industry, increase transparency and boost competition
Investigation unearths flaws in BoE’s RTGS system
Combination of elderly and complex RTGS system, inadequate testing and poor contingency planning led to nine-hour outage last October; BoE adopting review’s recommendations in full
Colombian paper considers reaction functions in payments
Working paper examines how different entities within a large-value payment system react to failures within that system, finding that a range of factors are in play
Gradual rollout for China's payment system
The country’s cross-border interbank payment system will further contribute to the internationalisation of the renminbi
Bank of Latvia establishes first overnight clearing cycle
New cycle will accelerate processing of retail payments submitted late in the day and comes with an upgrade to business continuity that should see fewer payments rejected
MAS and Esma ink cross-border CCP clearing deal
MoU paves way for Singapore CCPs providing clearing services to European banks to obtain EU recognition while remaining subject only to MAS regulatory regime
RBA mulls creation of repo CCP
Australia currently lacks a CCP for clearing repos, which could be exacerbating systemic risk and impairing market functioning, but previous efforts met with little enthusiasm
Court rules against ECB in CCP case
European court finds ECB does not have authority to regulate securities clearing systems in the EU, upholding a UK plea against rules forcing CCPs to be located in the eurozone
ECB revisits virtual currencies in new report
Research concludes virtual currencies do not pose ‘material risk’ to central bank operations in eurozone, but could if they become more widely used or entwined with the real economy
Angolan central bank rejects public designs for new coins
Applicants failed to meet the requirements of the competition launched for the design of two new coins. The National Bank of Angola will now develop the motifs of the 50 and 100 kwanzas
RBI director calls for ‘strong law’ against cyber crime
A strong law help increase the confidence of the average person on the street in using technology in financial transactions, argues RBI executive director
First CPMI-Iosco peer review finds gaps in trade repository principles
Peer review of Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures in Europe, Japan and the US finds jurisdictions have made good progress with CCPs, but gaps remain among trade repositories
More reforms needed to tackle CCP risks, warns IMF paper
Significant risks remain despite efforts to improve the resilience of central counterparties, IMF working paper warns; direct access to central bank facilities would help
Swift in talks with Fed and ECB on real-time payments
Swift’s Juliette Kennel and Carlo Palmers talk to Central Banking about the company's leap into real-time payments in Australia, and discuss launching similar systems in other countries
Riksbank unveils new series of notes and coins
Majority of Sweden’s banknotes and coins to be updated by the end of 2016; new 20 krona note to be introduced and two krona coin to re-enter circulation
Australia opts for ‘tactile’ notes to assist the visually impaired
Australia follows Canada in offering tactile features on polymer banknotes despite apparent rejection of the idea by the Bank of England
Justin Lin on China, economic growth and the international monetary system
Former World Bank chief economist on why a multiple currency system could increase monetary instability, China should be wary of full capital reform and infrastructure investment will boost growth
Pakistan targets automated cash management in five years
State Bank of Pakistan aims to automate cash management and urges commercial banks to follow suit; deputy governor says it will help ensure only clean and genuine notes circulate
Rosengren says cyber criminality could turn people to ‘less efficient' payment options
Boston Fed president says central banks ‘essential' to discussion on cyber security at Basel Committee conference in Cape Town
Central Bank of Nigeria sets up steering committee on financial inclusion
Committee comprising central bank governor and finance minister is tasked with coordinating national strategy; will meet three times per year and approve annual reports
Fed’s Powell: Virtual currencies ‘not ready’ for role in payments reform
Governor Jerome Powell says virtual currencies could play a ‘bigger role’ in the future, but are not yet ‘mature enough’ to contribute to the Fed’s faster payments initiative