Central Banks
Robert Pringle’s Viewpoint: ECB needs to play ‘chicken’ to force reform of Europe’s banks
The ECB won a game of brinkmanship with governments to secure the establishment of the bail-out fund. It needs to use the same tactic with three clear elements to force through bank reform
European finance sector needs complete overhaul, says ECB's Praet
Executive board member says Europe's financial sector must be overhauled in 'its entirety' not through ‘selective mending'; warns of Japanese-style zombie banks undercutting return to growth
Norges Bank handed advisory role on macro-prudential policy
Norwegian central bank will advise the ministry of finance on whether it should impose a countercyclical capital buffer and, if so, what size it should be
BoE prepares to implement Banking Standards recommendations
Response to final report of the UK’s Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards endorses the majority of the findings, although many points require further consultation
Fed's Stein seeks right regulatory mix on fire-sales for SFTs
Fed governor Jeremy Stein calls for new mix of rules to ensure ‘fire sale’ of securities financing transactions work at the system-wide level
IMF paper says ECB can do more to fix broken transmission mechanism
Working paper identifies credit channel as a major malfunctioning component of the eurozone monetary transmission mechanism and suggests possibilities for fixing it - including asset purchases
Canadian bonds more normal than US and UK equivalents at ZLB
Canadian sovereign debt yields are more responsive to shocks than UK and US equivalents at zero lower bound; differences diminish at shorter maturities
IMF tells Turkey to fix flawed monetary policy framework
Article IV mission calls on central bank to ‘re-consider’ its policy framework, accusing policy-makers of targeting too many objectives and consequently failing to control inflation
Kocherlakota urges Fed to do ‘whatever it takes’ to boost labour market
Persistently low inflation means the Federal Reserve can throw all its resources behind the fledgling labour market recovery, according to the Minneapolis Fed president
ECB's Cœuré backs committed liquidity facility
European Central Bank executive board member suggests a committed liquidity facility could help remove incentives for regulatory arbitrage in the Eurosystem
Dollar lending in East Asia can override local monetary policy, says BIS' McCauley
Paper by Robert McCauley and Dong He of the HKMA argues the growth of credit in foreign currencies, especially the dollar, transmits global monetary easing to East Asia
Maltese politicians clash over new deputy governor appointment
Move to appoint a deputy governor in charge of financial stability at the Central Bank of Malta led to opposition accusations of politicisation
Demand for Bank of Portugal online stats grew 51% in 2012
The central bank’s website received more than 55,000 visits last year, with the statistical service offered online and on mobile devices the most popular feature
Fed's Williams questions future of unconventional tools
San Francisco Fed president John Williams says forward guidance will help to improve transparency in more conventional times, while asset purchases should only be used as a last resort
Fijian governor foreshadows application of mobile payments in agriculture
Barry Whiteside says mobile banking is fast becoming an ‘accepted mode of payment’ and has the ability to transform Fiji’s agricultural sector
Central Bank of Ireland urges continued austerity despite slowdown
Any scaling back of fiscal adjustment runs risk of unwinding positive effects of €28 billion consolidation effort ‘for the sake of small short-term fiscal easing', bank argues in quarterly bulletin
Central Bank of Chile minutes reveal concern over slowing Brics
Slowdown in countries including Brazil, India, Indonesia and South Africa likely to have adverse effect on rest of the emerging world as well, board members say
NY Fed paper compares tools for managing short-term market rates
Researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of paying interest on excess reserves, offering term deposits and engaging in reverse repos
Hungarian central bank takes over financial stability role under new deputy governor
László Windisch will be in charge of financial stability, as former financial services authority is brought inside the central bank
Bank of Lebanon signs memorandum of understanding with Dubai FSA
Agreement aimed at improving information sharing on financial stability issues was signed by regulators in Dubai earlier this week
Boston Fed president says unwinding QE could take ‘several years’
Rosengren said disappointing data and the possibility for ‘disruptions’ in US fiscal policy prompted him to vote for steady asset purchases; says monetary accommodation should be removed slowly