Financial Stability
National Bank of Belgium sees deposit guarantee scheme as ‘missing component’
Central bank says a joint scheme is the ‘missing component’ of banking union, but argues risk-sharing must be accompanied by better risk control
Kenya sees a reduction in use of bank services
Mobile payments preferred, with 47.8% of the population using mobile services on a daily basis; banks now mainly used for salary payments
Wage settlements may force Sarb to hike rates further, deputy says
Sarb may look to tighter monetary policy to curtail any second round inflation effects from wage settlements; headline figure already above target range
National Bank of Angola no longer on FATF monitoring list
Angola makes “significant progress” in improving AML/CFT regime; one of three countries removed from monitoring list, alongside Algeria and Panama
Ukraine pushes for transparency on bank ownership
Ukraine’s central bank has closed one commercial bank and warned of potential for ‘enforcement measures’ against up to 29 others, as it pushes for transparency over ownership structures
Book notes: Stabilising capitalism: a greater role for central banks, by Pierluigi Ciocca
Pierluigi Ciocca offers an excellent, brief and crisp account of the main issues facing central banks today
Christchurch recovering after quake, RBNZ paper finds
Economy proves ‘resilient’ to earthquake as rebuild continues; uncertainty around the timeline puts off businesses from investing in the region
End of sanctions offers chance to fix Iran’s banking sector
Iranian banks struggling with high levels of non-performing loans may see their situation improve, but deep reforms are needed and the political situation remains complex
Hungary central bank action ‘distorting’ swaps curve
The Central Bank of Hungary has offered up 1 trillion forint notional of cheap interest rate swaps, driving down bids for receiver swaps and government bond yields, say dealers
Domestic inflation remained ‘benign’ in 2015 – Rwandan statement
Inflation in Rwanda continued to record “moderate” and “low” levels throughout last year; current monetary policy stance “justified”
CCPs: too interconnected to fail?
The likely responses by national authorities to the possible failure of CCPs in stressed conditions aren't generally assured. But they may be reluctant to allow them to fail, writes Richard Heckinger
Paraguay’s governor on the ‘new normal’ and inflation targeting
Central Bank of Paraguay governor Carlos Fernández Valdovinos explains why the global economy must adapt to the 'new normal' and how Paraguay is coping with falling commodity prices
Book notes: Between debt and the devil, by Adair Turner
Adair Turner offers a lively and well-structured account of his proposals to radically overhaul the financial sector
EBA publishes guidelines for co-operation agreements between deposit guarantee schemes
European Banking Authority lays out guidelines for agreements between EU deposit guarantee schemes; clear principles should lessen conflict and make mediation easier, authority says
Global growth has ‘flat-lined’, says OECD chief economist
Global economy expected to expand no faster than in 2015; current monetary policy stance ‘insufficient’ to spur growth
Book notes: Debtonator, by Andrew McNally
A lucid book questioning society’s bias towards debt and against equity
BoE’s Furse sees benefits to UK as a global finance hub
External FPC member sees plenty of reasons why policy-makers in the UK should seek to make the economy attractive to global financial firms; says robust institutions are important
BIS paper models self-generating financial crises
Authors set out DSGE model where financial crises can be triggered either by an external shock or the endogenous generation of credit booms and busts
Strong action needed to tackle credit booms, research finds
Study of macro-prudential policy use in south-east Europe finds policies must be broad, powerful and carefully calibrated if they are to work
EBA sets out standards for weighing securitisation ratings
Institutions must take 'qualitative' approach to weighing credit agencies’ ratings of securities in the short term, EBA says; advocates move to 'quantitative' approach over longer term
Fed’s Kashkari: more needs to be done to end too-big-to-fail
Minneapolis Fed president says 'transformational' approaches, such as breaking up the largest banks, should be given “serious consideration” in quest to end too-big-to-fail
Nouy says increase in European banking spreads not ‘justified’
Recent rise in credit spreads for eurozone banks does not appear justified, given their high capital levels, Danièle Nouy tells the European parliament