Central Banks
Fed to release new $100 bill in October after three-year delay
New $100 bill with new security features is finally ready to enter circulation, after 'creasing' issues caused delays in 2011
Bank of Canada annual report highlights banknote success
New series of polymer banknotes introduced in 2012 as counterfeiting continues to fall; inflation kept shackled throughout year but falls below target in December
The Dutch are ‘poorly informed’ about country’s debt
Central bank survey finds that the Netherlands’ population underestimates the size of the country’s public debt, and wrongly attributes its creation to support for banks and other European governments
Bank of England ups incentives for increased SME lending
BoE in conjunction with Treasury introduces new incentives in a bid to get credit to struggling small business sector
ECB paper seeks to boost predictive power of macroeconomic models
Research analyses and seeks to supplement the predictive power of the three main families of macroeconomic models – DFM, DSGE and VAR – used by central banks
Bank of Italy research finds evidence of investors ‘waking up’ to sovereign risk
Working paper suggests widening eurozone sovereign spreads caused by ‘complacent’ investors suddenly paying closer attention to risks
Australia to shift 5% of foreign reserves to China
Deputy governor Philip Lowe reveals the Reserve Bank of Australia will invest around 5% of its foreign exchange reserves in China; Asian economists divided over significance of move
NY Fed president dispenses policy advice to European and US governments
William Dudley tells European policy-makers that moving forward with banking union is critical, while the US government should be worrying more about its fiscal outlook
European Parliament claims substantive agreement on EU bank resolution legislation
Vote on legislation for harmonised recovery and resolution processes postponed till May, but European Parliament says it has reached agreement on all the main points
Barnier takes Bernanke to task over foreign bank rules
Letter from European commissioner to Fed chief says proposed rules for foreign banks put global efforts at regulatory harmony in jeopardy and could spark ‘protectionist reaction’
BoE’s McCafferty denies Monetary Policy Committee has ‘gone soft’
MPC member highlights positive signs for growth but says inflation is ‘more concerning’; expects inflation to remain above target but says a response is not yet necessary
Independent Scotland would face ‘significant risks’ under sterling union, says Westminster
UK government report points to drawbacks of all the currency options for an independent Scotland; refuses to back Scotland’s preference for a sterling union
Bank of Japan deputy governor warns over ‘fallacy of composition'
Role of central banks has evolved to include market-maker of last resort and global lender of last resort; however, they must keep a macro-prudential perspective
UK economists divided over BoJ easing
Treasury Select Committee witnesses debate whether BoJ radical easing will overcome decade of deflation; economists fear an ‘unruly spike’ in yields when quantitative easing is unwound
Central Bank of the Philippines continues forex liberalisation drive
Relaxed rules for onshore foreign exchange transactions aim to cope with rising demand and encourage public to move informal transactions into the banking system
Maduro picks central bank chief for Venezuela's finance minister
Nelson Merentes will be finance minister and central bank governor for the time being; analysts see his appointment as part of a shift to a more 'pragmatic chavismo'
IMF publishes new reserve management guidelines
New additions encourage portfolio diversification, greater consideration of an investment's impact on the markets and internal credit rating assessments
SNB paper analyses relationship between monetary policy and financial integration
Study finds that monetary policy can have a larger effect on output and inflation under conditions of greater financial and trade integration
IMFC advocates ‘pragmatic’ approach to resisting capital flows
Committee of the IMF says easing by advanced economies is justified; emerging markets should use a variety of tools to lean against the resulting capital inflows
Fed’s Stein backs ‘committed liquidity facility’ as supplement to Basel LCR
Federal Reserve governor says facility approved for use in Australia could be a good way of maintaining liquidity during crisis and imposing a ‘pollution tax’ on illiquid banks
ECB’s Asmussen deflects criticism over lack of monetary policy action
ECB executive board member says quantitative easing would not work well applied to Europe; stresses continued political commitment to banking union
Riksbank deputy Lars Svensson steps down
Riksbank’s ‘most committed dove’ will leave the central bank in May after failing to win the other members of the Executive Board round to a more expansionary monetary policy