Reserves
Angola looks to abandon currency peg
Crippled by low commodity prices, Angola’s kwanza will be allowed to float within a range, governor says
Cambodia shortens duration of liquid reserves ahead of election – reserves chief
De-dollarisation and lack of interbank market make forex intervention the only real policy tool left for National Bank of Cambodia
Qatar Central Bank launches legal probe into manipulation
Central bank appoints law firm, as governor accuses blockading countries of manipulating the riyal and local markets
GFXC publishes final word on last look
The Global Foreign Exchange Committee releases the new and final version of Principle 17, and adds two examples to illustrate best practice
Rupee drops as SBP tackles reserves decline
Pakistani rupee down nearly 4% after central bank triggers “market-driven adjustment”
ECB and 14 European central banks commit to forex code of conduct
Bank of England and rest of the European Union central banks set to follow suit in early 2018
Cocos lower banks’ funding costs – BIS paper
Mechanical triggers and equity conversion strengthen cocos’ impact, paper finds
UK Royal Mint to use blockchain to track gold trades
System will track ownership of gold traded on new platform without the need of a central database; new system will charge small transaction fees but abolish storage fees
Central Bank of Barbados governor ‘concerned’ about level of reserves
Barbados central bank tweaks securities requirement ratio amid foreign exchange shortage; less than 10 weeks of import coverage remain
SNB profits hit record high
Swiss franc’s depreciation and high stock prices fuel the rise in revenues in the first three quarters
The optimal size for central bank balance sheets
As the Fed seeks to reduce the assets on its balance sheets, Charles Goodhart examines the role between monetary and fiscal policy, central bank and debt office, and the optimal size of a central bank’s balance sheet
Xi sees renminbi taking greater role in global monetary system
President Xi Jinping calls for quality and equality of growth rather than speed; flags plans to promote renminbi as global reserve currency
Bahamian central bank proposes law change to cap government debt holdings
New legal framework for Bahamas central bank would enforce “comprehensive” limits on government debt; holdings of long-term government debt stand at 12.52%
Ethiopia launches ‘first of its kind’ swap agreement with Sudan
Central banks to swap $16 million under new agreement designed to strengthen financial co-operation and ease Ethiopia’s foreign exchange pressures
Government funds at T&T central bank nearly exhausted
Trinidad and Tobago governor warns government has used 99.7% of its overdraft; finance minister blames former administration for depleted funds
IMF tells Bahamas central bank to reduce government bond holdings
Central bank increased holdings after Hurricane Matthew negatively impacted growth last year; levels of reserves remain stable, fund says
Iraq suspends dollar payments to some Kurdish banks
Future of agreement on oil revenues unclear as country faces significant economic problems
Costa Rican central bank gets $1bn to shore up exchange rate
Regional fund offers credit line as central bank aims to boost reserves and relieve pressure on exchange rate; central bank plans a move towards inflation targeting
Perng Fai-nan on how Taiwan has eluded crisis for 20 years
Taiwan’s governor explains how pragmatic interventions have engendered two decades of financial stability, despite the island’s status as a small, open economy
Diversifying reserves carries major risks, warns Taiwan governor
Perng Fai-nan points to the records of Norway and Singapore’s SWFs as a warning about diversification risks; blames SWF outsourcing to asset managers for exacerbating EM volatility