Central Banks
Volcker calls for end to inflation targets
Former Fed chairman tells New York audience the Fed must have the 'backbone' to exit QE before it is too late; says no need for a 'specific target or target zone' for inflation
Colombian governor warns Latin America could be hit hard by end of US QE
José Darío Uribe says past instances of monetary policy tightening in the US have caused crises in Latin America, but argues the region is better prepared this time around
Bank of Greece report optimistic that banking sector has ‘weathered the storm’
Monetary policy report for 2012-13 says confidence is gradually returning as banks make repairs, deficits are reduced and the stabilisation programme remains ‘well on track’
IMF paper dissects 'remarkably stable’ US inflation
Working paper examines factors behind favourable inflation performance in the US following the Great Recession, identifying three main causes
UK consumers drop cash in move towards mobile payments
British Retail Consortium says cash usage fell sharply last year, while research by VocaLink finds a strong uptake of mobile payments by consumers, though retail payments are still dominated by cash
ECB links ‘fragile’ financial stability to weak macroeconomy
Latest financial stability review says stress has ‘fallen markedly’ but vulnerabilities persist; ECB is most concerned about the impact of a further decline in bank profitability
RBNZ could ‘scale up’ forex intervention
Reserve Bank of New Zealand governor Graeme Wheeler signals willingness to sell more NZ dollars to combat currency appreciation; house price increases put central bank in policy ‘bind’
HKMA's Chan identifies inherent flaws in risk models
HKMA chief questions the use of financial models in risk management; argues the inability of models to account for irrationality is a major defect
Pressure builds on ECB as figures show no lending growth
OECD and the European Commission call on the European Central Bank to do more, as ECB figures show lending to the eurozone's productive economy continues to shrink
BoJ’s Kuroda highlights 'increasing attention' on capital controls
Bank of Japan governor notes greater understanding of volatile capital flows as a channel for financial shock transmission; says banking union may be plagued by 'financial trilemma'
Bank of Mexico paper backs credit multiplier as amplification mechanism in DSGE
Working paper finds that credit multipliers do produce the amplification effects expected of them in a DSGE model and are not failing as some suggest
BoE deputies warn of slow policy coordination
Charlie Bean says eurozone periphery will weigh on demand for ‘some time’ as wage and price adjustments are needed; Tucker highlights trade-off between speed and balance in global regulation
Bank of Thailand rate cut aims to boost demand, not weaken baht
BoT makes clear its move was driven by disappointing economic growth, and not aimed at weakening the currency as the government would like
Latvian annual report reveals reserves diversification
Bank of Latvia publishes annual report for 2012; reveals 15% increase in foreign reserves and diversification into Canadian and Singapore dollar-denominated assets
Belize annual report details financial stability measures
Central Bank of Belize publishes annual report for 2012; establishes financial stability unit to explore macro-prudential surveillance and introduces measures to reduce share of NPLs
BIS finds ‘no evidence' of persistent collateral scarcity
Report says increased reliance on collateralised funding and demands of regulatory reforms have not led to any 'lasting or widespread scarcity' of high quality assets
Colombian paper trumpets transparent forex intervention
Research says ‘pre-announced and transparent’ interventions had a greater impact on the Colombian exchange rate than more discretionary or ‘dirty’ purchases
RBA considers overhaul to card access regimes
Reserve Bank of Australia launches consultation on whether to change or revoke rules governing access to credit and debit card systems – which might allow the RBA itself to acquire cards
Israel cuts rate for second time in two weeks
Bank of Israel cuts benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points for second time this month as global monetary easing ‘accelerates’
Danish governor rejects financial transaction tax
Per Callesen says tax will restrict market liquidity and banks are ‘right to complain’ about it; says the central bank’s experience with negative interest rates has been a success
UAE central bank annual report shows sharp balance sheet expansion
Annual report for 2012 sees balance sheet growth driven largely by higher foreign exchange purchases; prudential measures implemented to shore up banking system
Discontent on BoJ board over monetary policy outlook
Three board members suggest changes to the wording of the outlook for economic activity and prices as fears emerge over effects of continued QE; Kuroda and Miyao upbeat in separate speeches
Fed paper analyses impact of public views on FOMC forecasts
Working paper says FOMC forecasts are influenced by both internal and external views; analyses the weighting given by committee members to each