Reserves
Renminbi internationalisation to get boost from 60m overseas Chinese
Use of the renminbi by the 60-million strong Chinese diaspora will accelerate the currency’s use in global trade and reserves management. By Gary Smith.
Perception of EM risk reduced by central bank safety net, say investors
Large foreign exchange reserves held by emerging market central banks makes investing in those countries attractive, say panellists at FX Invest Europe
World gold demand drops despite increased central bank purchases
Central bank purchases in 2012 reach highest level in 48 years, but Indian contraction leads global demand fall
Riksbank at odds with proposals to limit capital, analysts say
Proposals released that would halve the size of the Riksbank’s balance sheet; analysts say they clash with central bank policy and are unlikely to be adopted
Gold is no inflation hedge, says RBI deputy
Kamalesh Chandra Chakrabarty disputes status of gold as a safe asset or hedge against inflation, arguing that as the gold price increases, so do risks
SNB profits halve in 2012
Swiss National Bank reveals expected profits for 2012 are less than half the figure for 2011
Bundesbank to bring gold back home
Bundesbank will move 674 tonnes of Germany’s gold reserves, currently held in New York and Paris, to vaults in Frankfurt by 2020
Brazil increases gold holdings by 90% in three months
Central Bank of Brazil adds 31.9 tonnes of gold to its reserves between September and November; could indicate a desire to diversify away from the dollar
Central Bank of Iceland suspends its foreign currency purchases
Iceland's central bank seeks to mitigate an ‘undesirably large’ depreciation of the Icelandic króna
RBI report condemns ‘excessive’ gold demand
Reserve Bank of India working group recommends gold imports are reduced to protect the country’s balance of payments and currency reserves
Central Bank of Egypt grapples with falling currency
Egyptian pound continues fall after currency auctions by central bank; follows rating downgrade as concerns raised over impact of political turmoil and weakening economy
IMF figures show fall in euro’s share of foreign exchange holdings
Euro-denominated foreign exchange reserve currency claims fell by $8.19 billion in the third quarter of 2012 as developing nations diversify their holdings
RBNZ bulletin reports growth in currency, fall in counterfeits
Amount of currency in circulation rises 5% in the year to June 2012 as counterfeits fall to one part per million
SNB to open branch in Singapore
Swiss central bank will transfer Asian portfolio managers to new office in Singapore as it looks to diversify reserves further
Peru annual report shows declining dollar share of reserves
Greenback’s share of central bank’s reserves declined from 64% to 57% of portfolio in 2011 as a result of diversification strategy
Riksbank reinforces foreign currency reserves
Sveriges Riksbank will borrow $15 billion of foreign currency from Swedish National Debt Office to compensate in part for increasing IMF commitments
Central bank gold purchases slow in third quarter
Growth of net central bank gold holdings in third quarter remains positive but decelerates compared with similar period in 2011; year-to-date holdings up 9%
SNB taking outsized risk in equities in challenging environment, says board official
The Swiss National Bank has allocated 12% of its burgeoning forex reserves to global equities, a level that is significantly above an allocation based purely for diversification benefits
Ballooning balance sheet yields further ‘profit’ for SNB
Swiss National Bank’s profits show continued growth in third quarter with the largest contribution from foreign exchange holdings; balance sheet has increased 45% during the year
Dutch gold also unverified
Central banks with second, third and ninth largest gold holdings in the world admit to not physically verifying overseas gold; but some host central banks do not allow external auditors into vaults
Bundesbank reveals specific location details of gold holdings
New details of the Bundesbank’s foreign gold holdings released as Bank of Italy admits also not physically verifying gold held overseas despite having world’s third largest gold reserves
Bundesbank under pressure over $172bn gold inventory
German Federal Court of Auditors calls on Bundesbank to check gold held at Federal Reserve, Bank of England and Banque de France; Bundesbank to move 150 tonnes back to Germany over next three years
Central bankers highlight merits of fixed exchange rate regimes
Bosnian and Barbadian governors discuss the importance of a fixed exchange rate for small and open economies
Egyptian reserves fall by more than 50% to $15bn
Political unrest in Egypt has resulted in the country seeing its foreign exchange reserves tumble by $21 billion. But the situation has stabilised during the past few months