Central Banks
IMF paper contrasts European countries’ capital accounts
Finds capital accounts rebalanced faster in emerging European countries than in the periphery; attributes difference to faster wage and public sector adjustment
BoE urges banks to use payments systems directly
Bank of England identifies need to clamp down on banks accessing high-value payment systems through other banks as it creates credit and liquidity risks
Bank Indonesia candidate grilled by parliamentary commission
Governor nominee Agus Martowardojo faces difficult questions on scandals while at finance ministry; former Bank Indonesia governor warns of threat to the central bank’s independence
BoJ researchers find Japanese banks hold too many stocks and too few bonds
Working paper analyses optimal ratio of stocks to bonds for banks to hold; finds most Japanese financial institutions are overweight equities
Sanusi will not seek second term at Nigerian central bank
Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, will step down in June 2014; close to securing last in a string of controversial banking reforms
US banks and regulators both failed on Basel II parallel runs, says Fed official
Failure to exit Basel II parallel runs represents a 'black eye' for US financial sector, says Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond unit head
US agencies clamp down on leveraged lending
Fed, FDIC and OCC issue updated standards for leveraged lenders amid concerns standards are again slipping and many institutions have ‘proven less than satisfactory’ in risk management practices
Depositors will trust EU guarantee despite Cyprus, says Banque de France official
Policy-makers have incentive to accelerate deposit guarantee plans, says Sylvie Matherat of the Banque de France
Bangladesh Bank governor says micro-finance regulation must tread fine line
Atiur Rahman says supervisors must strike a difficult balance between encouraging over-indebtedness and damaging financial inclusion when regulating micro-finance
HKMA report tells investors to brace for volatile financial cycle
Financial stability report says risks from property market volatility have continued to mount; central bank says macro-prudential policy is doing its job but there could be a sudden price reversal
Icelandic finance minister backs euro switch
Katrín Júlíusdóttir says adopting euro could help to restrain inflation and boost investment; Central Bank of Iceland publishes annual report
Kazakh banks should go beyond Basel III, says central bank
Financial stability report calls for banks to boost capital levels above Basel III requirements; encourages largest banks to clean up balance sheets and lend more
Australia adjusting well to ‘profound impact’ of strong Asian growth, says paper
Research examines consequences of strong Asia-Pacific growth on Australian economy, finding currency appreciation and anchored inflation helped economy adjust
Central Bank of Egypt hikes rates as reserves dwindle and inflation rises
Monetary Policy Committee agrees 50 basis point rise despite ‘feeble’ growth, as inflation shows highest rise since 2010 and reserves fall to critical levels
RBNZ looks to toughen payments oversight
Reserve Bank of New Zealand deems its oversight powers ‘insufficient’ in internal review; proposes new powers to boost authority over payments industry
Dutch paper analyses changes in unsecured overnight money market
Study examines changes to the ECB’s monetary policy framework in the mid-2000s; finds they reduced volatility in Dutch segment of Target II system
Swiss National Bank faces referendum over gold sales
Politicians seek to prevent SNB from selling gold and force the central bank to hold 20% of assets in the precious metal via a public referendum
IMF research identifies ‘strong macro-financial linkages’ in eastern Europe
Working paper finds macroeconomic factors closely tied to non-performing loans in central, eastern and southeast Europe; warns of ‘strong feedback effects’ between banks and economy
ECB threatens to cut off liquidity support to Cyprus
Governing council says no more emergency liquidity will be provided to Cypriot banks if a deal is not reached by Monday; negotiations continue and banks will remain closed into next week
Nominal GDP dismissed as viable policy target in Central Banking debate
Former Bank of England officials argue against adopting a nominal GDP target for monetary policy; economist Gabriel Stein brands it ‘absolute madness’
RBI’s Sinha says good bank governance should reduce need for intervention
Deputy governor sets out Indian corporate governance requirements; says sound corporate practices and regulation should complement one another, reducing the need for supervisors to intervene
Sepa migration at risk due to poor preparedness, says ECB
First progress report expresses alarm at some companies planning to migrate very close to deadline; payments could be disrupted if deadline missed, but Benoît Cœuré says ‘there is no plan B’