Reserves
Conundrum facing reserve managers set to continue, say Nalm speakers
Central bank reserve managers to face further challenges about where to allocate their resources as reserve levels look set grow
Relative riskiness of alternative reserve assets falls, say CBP panellists
Negative real yields and credit concerns about some G7 currencies make alternative investments more attractive to reserve managers compared with five years ago, say CBP webinar panellists; role of gold challenged
Nigeria builds buffers to brace against uncertainty
Bank of Nigeria minutes show commitment to increase external reserves buffer; inflation expected to be lower than forecast
SNB bond-buying ‘exacerbating’ euro fragmentation – S&P
Rating agency says Swiss National Bank activity is deepening divergent market conditions for euro sovereign issuance
ECB paper finds US foreign bondholdings rooted in past
ECB research examines the link between past and present levels of foreign bonds held by US investors; finds similar investment patterns for both
HKMA deputy dismisses yuan competition fears
Competition in the offshore renminbi market offers opportunities that can be exploited to increase Hong Kong’s share of the market, says Eddie Yue
SNB maintains minimum exchange rate
The Swiss National Bank announces an unchanged minimum exchange rate; Swiss franc has not depreciated as expected
Reserve Bank of Fiji delivers positive economic review
Latest economic review reveals generally optimistic developments in Fijian economy; growth and inflation expected to meet projections
Bundesbank starts foreign reserve operations in Tokyo
German central bank upgrades Tokyo representative office on 25th anniversary to full trading office; starts trading in Asian timezone to lower costs and gain information edge
Central banks are major driver of gold prices, says GFMS
Latest Thomson Reuters GFMS gold survey finds central banks are supporting gold prices via large purchases; adverse economic climate and quantitative easing also contributing to price increase
Chile director presents results of fund management outsourcing
Divisional director at the Central Bank of Chile discusses changes to the management of pension reserve fund; responsibility given to external managers for first time
Bank of Thailand's Prasarn Trairatvorakul on the central bank's 70th anniversary
On the eve of its 70-year anniversary, Bank of Thailand’s governor, Prasarn Trairatvorakul, talks to Blair Baker about the central bank’s emerging role in domestic, regional and global economics
RBA minutes show bond yields at “historic low”
Reserve Bank of Australia’s August monetary policy minutes note historically low bond yields; offshore purchases of Australian dollar remain high
IMF paper evaluates reserve adequacy in emerging markets
Working paper studies the determinants of reserve holdings in emerging markets and small islands; proposes measure of reserve adequacy
Central banks make “record” gold purchases in Q2
World Gold Council says central banks bought 254.2 tonnes of gold in the first half of 2012; Kazakhstan, the Philippines, Ukraine and Guatemala among the countries that added to reserves
Central Bank of Barbados governor praises government’s fiscal strategy
DeLisle Worrell says Barbadian government’s policy strategy is appropriate to the ‘economic reality’; follows downgrade of sovereign debt to BB+ in July
SNB reveals scale of latest foreign exchange purchases
Swiss National Bank posts large increase in foreign exchange holdings from June to July; purchases represent efforts by central bank to prevent safe-haven flows into country
Bank of Korea reveals July gold purchase
Korea adds hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of gold to reserves in July; FX reserves swell by $1.97 billion to $314.35 billion
Swiss National Bank posts profit in first half of year
Latest figures show central bank made a profit in first half of the year; majority of gains come from holdings of foreign currency purchased to maintain minimum exchange rate against euro
BIS paper links funding to emerging economies and stock market volatility
Working paper studies funding flows between emerging market central banks and investors during stock market calm and volatility; suggests this reinforces risk-on and risk-off markets
Asian central bank reserves surpass optimal levels, says IMF’s Zavadjil
Reserves held by Asian central banks are rising past optimal levels even if cover for longer-term foreign fund and FDI ouflows are added to import and short-term debt coverage metrics, says IMF expert
Russia takes lead in gold purchases in May
Latest World Gold Council figures show Bank of Russia increased gold reserves by largest amount in May; council says emerging markets purchases viewed as a part of ‘broader theme’
Bhutanese central bank warns of external imbalances
Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan monetary policy statement outlines threats to currency peg; says long-run solution requires strengthening of macroeconomic fundamentals
‘Not clear’ China wants renminbi to rival dollar, says CIC’s Lau
China is pushing for the renminbi to be used more widely in commerce and finance but it is unclear if Beijing wants its currency to rival the US dollar and euro, says CIC’s Lawrence Lau