Central Banks
ECB faces parliamentary grilling on Troika track record
Senior managers from European Central Bank and European Commission defend the accountability and forecasting track record of the Troika in European Parliament hearing
Fed reaction function shift helped support recovery, research finds
NY Fed research finds markets viewed ‘calendar’ forward guidance as a more dovish approach to policy, supported by comments from FOMC members; ECB and BoE both denied such a move in own guidance
Bank of England waging payment system war on three fronts
Chief cashier Chris Salmon says the central bank must contend with issues relating to cyber security, user access and new regulation within the UK payments infrastructure
Kuroda sets out evidence that Japan’s recovery will persist
Bank of Japan governor highlights a range of factors that suggest Japan may be bringing 15 years of stagnation to a close – supported by the central bank’s aggressive monetary policy
ECB’s Asmussen urges Denmark and Sweden to sit at banking union table
Jörg Asmussen says the single supervisory mechanism will be the envy of those outside the eurozone; tells Denmark and Sweden they will get more of a say if they have ‘a chair at the table’ now
Fed’s Powell downplays QE impact on emerging markets
Governor admits Fed policy has played a part in capital flows to and from emerging markets, but argues other factors are more important; follows fresh complaints from Asian economies
Boston Fed president wants low rates well into future
Boston Fed president Eric Rosengren says Federal Reserve should not raise its short-term interest rates until there is ‘much more progress’ towards full employment and its inflation target
Chilean policy-makers grow concerned over inflation
Central Bank of Chile board members voice concerns over persistently low inflation in their October monetary policy meeting; vote to cut key policy rate for first time in 18 months
BoE creates new role in response to cyber crime threats
Chief information security officer will oversee the Bank of England’s IT security defences; UK banks to be tested on their ability to withstand online attacks
Federal Reserve reveals new, tougher stress tests
Details of stress tests for 2014 include scenario based on severe global recession, with some banks facing additional criteria; tests will be applied to 12 more banks than before
BoE official calls for greater transparency on CCP margin modelling
Central counterparties should compete on quality of risk management, rather than a race to the bottom on margins, says Bank of England's head of payments and infrastructure
Cypriot commission criticises ‘cumbersome’ managerial structure at central bank
Independent commission wants to see more power handed to the executive and non-executive directors at the Central Bank of Cyprus; says senior management dropped the ball on financial stability
Thailand’s Prasarn highlights ‘dramatic’ turnaround caused by Fed taper-talk
Embattled emerging market central banks trying to resist capital inflows suddenly had the opposite problem as Fed hinted at QE taper, but some may have tightened too fast, says Thai governor
Overburdened central banks may become ‘repoliticised’, says Orphanides
Former Central Bank of Cyprus governor warns overreliance on central banks may eventually ‘diminish and compromise’ their independence, in a paper published by the Boston Fed
Fed paper trials new model for estimating trend inflation
Researchers at the Federal Reserve generate lower estimates of trend inflation in advanced economies by using a multivariate model; still struggle to outperform random walk forecasts
Fed’s Fisher attacks ‘ineffective’ US government
Dallas Fed president Richard Fisher holds the United States government accountable for the slow pace of economic recovery; says the Fed has acted swiftly and decisively in comparison
US Senator vows to block Yellen nomination
Republican Rand Paul - son of long-time Fed critic Ron Paul - says he intends to fight confirmation of Janet Yellen as the next Fed chair unless monetary policy is subjected to Congressional scrutiny
Central bankers cannot fix Asia's economic woes, warn bank economists
Government-driven reform is urgently required to ensure continued development in Asia; India comes in for most criticism as market watchers turn attention to forthcoming plenary in Beijing
Tax relief for debt finance helps banks and non-banks, IMF paper finds
There is no significant difference in corporate tax bias towards debt finance between banks and non-banks, according to IMF working paper; Size and leverage levels of firms matter
People: Latvian governor re-appointed; Lithuania hires board member from ECB
Long-serving Latvian governor wins another term, to see Latvia into the eurozone; Lithuania appoints fifth member to the board; Riksbank promotes new head of financial stability department
Norges Bank governor heralds countercyclical capital buffer
Øystein Olsen says 'primary purpose' of prudential tool is increasing banks' resilience as systemic risk increases; buffer will vary between zero and 2.5% of risk-weighted assets
Leading central banks make emergency swap lines permanent
Six leading central banks are leaving bilateral swap agreements introduced during the financial crisis in place until further notice; US dollar liquidity-providing operations will continue as normal