Central Banks
Federal agencies finalise Volcker rule exceptions
The Federal Reserve, FDIC and other agencies agree on a final version of the Volcker rule to ban proprietary trading and investment fund activities, but with a series of exemptions
HKMA launches ‘hassle-free’ electronics payments platform
Hong Kong Monetary Authority says the platform will enable the general public to receive, manage and schedule electronic payments in three different currencies through one portal
IMF's Viñals says ESM should backstop ECB's comprehensive assessment
José Viñals says the European Stability Mechanism should be made available as a public backstop for the ECB’s forthcoming comprehensive assessment
Russian interbank market lacks discipline, Bofit paper finds
Investigation into levels of market discipline in the Russian interbank market finds some discipline was present during the financial crisis, but even then it was insufficient to curb risk-taking
Interest rates best transmit South African monetary policy, say researchers
New Sarb paper analyses five transmission channels for a monetary policy shock, finding interest rates to be the strongest, and asset prices the weakest
Bank of Thailand MPC insists rising inflation is ‘not immediate threat’
Minutes from November meeting show the committee voted to cut rates for the second time in six months despite one member’s concerns that inflation could continue to pick up in 2014
Pakistan deputy wants new data protection laws for payments
Ashraf Mahmood Wathra welcomes the ‘innovative banking practices’ driving financial inclusion but says data protection must keep pace
Central Bank of Russia picks official rouble symbol
The Russian currency will now have an official symbol after an open design competition came down to a public vote between five designs
Bank of Canada warns over lingering economic vulnerabilities
The global economy looks more robust than it did when the Bank of Canada published its last Financial System Review six months ago, but risks remain
RBI's Joshi on the bank's wide-ranging strategies to raise financial awareness
RBI executive director says strategy is to raise financial literacy through initiatives like outreach visits and financial literacy centres, but also through 'comic books, plays and skits'
Lagarde calls for pre-emptive action on eurozone deflation
IMF managing director says the ECB should act to shore up eurozone inflation and find ways of getting credit to SMEs; Draghi says ECB must pursue price stability by all means necessary
Fed presidents weigh in on QE as job numbers improve, debt ceiling showdown looms
Five of 12 regional Fed presidents have staked out their positions on bank's asset purchases in recent days as FOMC gears up for next meeting on December 17
RBA paves way for new entrants in card systems
Reserve Bank of Australia wants to facilitate new entrants into Australia’s credit and debit card systems; plans to let MasterCard and Visa set the eligibility criteria
Former Hungarian deputy says police investigation is the ‘craziest thing I have ever seen'
Júlia Király, who quit the Hungarian central bank this year after governor Andras Simor was replaced, says ongoing probe likely centres on her old department; warns over monetary stimulus
Fed launches online ‘gateway' to bank's history
New website features infographics, essays and biographies to mark the Fed's 100th birthday on December 23
UK can escape ‘liquidity trap', Carney says
Mark Carney tells New York audience the Bank of England's joint responsibility for monetary and financial policy allows it to stimulate the economy while avoiding unbalanced growth
Risky loans reach pre-crisis levels as banks are increasingly bypassed, warns BIS
Basel-based organisation also frets over impact on corporate bond markets from interest rate normalisation; cross-border lending falls in Q2 as non-banks play increasingly important role
Malaysian deputy laments ‘price distortion’ between cheques and electronic payments
Muhammad bin Ibrahim says the $240 million spent on processing cheques by the Bank Negara Malaysia each year is a ‘huge and sheer wastage’ and could be avoided by more accurate pricing
Kuroda calls for research into political constraints on monetary policy
Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda stresses the need to understand more about the ‘political and administrative feasibilities’ that bind monetary policy
National Bank of Belgium weighs reduction in one and two cent coins
Belgian central bank considers merits of allowing traders to round cash and electronic payments to the nearest five cents in a bid to render one and two cent coins ‘unnecessary’
MAS launches two-year technical assistance programme for neighbouring central banks
The Monetary Authority of Singapore will provide training activities and forums for 190 central bank officials from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam between now and 2015