Central Banks
Gold and currency earnings secure profit for SNB
The Swiss National Bank expects to see annual profit of SFr13 billion ($13.6 billion); able to make the regular distribution to Cantons
RBI’s Sinha: Financial inclusion can be profitable for banks
Reserve Bank of India deputy governor Anand Sinha says universal financial inclusion is a prerequisite for inclusive growth with financial stability
Fed’s Plosser supports numerical inflation objective
Philadelphia Federal Reserve president Charles Plosser says Fed seeks to clarify longer-run goals and monetary policy decision-making process
Fed appoints new special adviser
US Federal Reserve board chooses Johns Hopkins University professor Jon Faust as a special adviser
Investigation into governing board could delay Swiss governor selection
Thomas Jordan firm favourite to succeed as governor; decision not expected soon as investigation into senior staff's finances continues
Japan nervous of implications of Volcker rule
Bank of Japan releases letter sent to US officials outlining impact of changes to speculative trading controls; fears Japanese government bond market will be hit
Fed expects $76.9 billion transfer to US Treasury
Federal Reserve estimates it will provide $76.9 billion of funds to the US Treasury after high returns from interest on income
ECB and BoE join other countries in rates hold
European Central Bank and Bank of England join the National Bank of Poland and Bank Indonesia in leaving interest rates on hold; ECB president welcomes U-turn on Greece private sector involvement
IMF paper measures the natural rate of interest
Fund study says the transformed money demand and observed output gap provides the best information about the natural interest rate
RBI’s Padmanabhan flags issues with pricing of payment products
Reserve Bank of India executive director G Padmanabhan says recent intervention in pricing of electronic products in India was warranted
Williams welcomes greater transparency at the Fed
San Francisco Federal Reserve president John Williams says he supports steps to make the Fed’s long-term policy goals more explicit
Bank of Lithuania sells majority share in CSD
Finnish company buys 60% share in CSD; central bank hopes new investor will progress the depository’s offerings and promote the Lithuanian capital market
Shirakawa: central bank liquidity measures can only ‘buy time'
Bank of Japan governor Masaaki Shirakawa says lessons from Japan's lost decade show structural reforms are needed to return to sustainable growth; welcomes intellectual shift on policy towards asset bubble
FSB discusses plans for the year
Financial Stability Board covers 2012 work plan in latest meeting; considers extending Sifi framework to domestic banks and globally significant insurance companies
Kansas City Fed’s George discusses the mis-pricing of risk
Kansas City Federal Reserve president Esther George says policy-makers face difficult balancing act to boost the housing market and prevent misallocation of capital
Bank of Israel report highlights policy split on rate-setting body
Bank of Israel report of Narrow Forum discussion shows one member of monetary committee dissented against decision to hold rates, instead preferring a 25-basis-point cut
Sri Lanka holds rates on stable growth outlook
Central Bank of Sri Lanka Monetary Policy Review shows economy grew by 8.4% in the third quarter of 2011 due to strong agriculture, industry and services sector
IMF models new liquidity stress test framework
International Monetary Fund study creates new template to conduct balance sheet-based liquidity stress tests
Lesotho appoints governance trio
Central Bank of Lesotho announces appointment of new governor and two deputy governors
Chinese government and central bank identify targets for progress
People’s Bank of China publishes outcome of government planning meeting; document reveals aims for variety of areas including monetary policy and systemic risk management
Bank of Canada survey forecasts weaker sales growth this year
Bank of Canada Business Outlook Winter Survey shows outlook for sales growth in 2012 turns negative as demand continues to weigh on firms’ expectations
Malawi awaits new deputy governors
President Bingu wa Mutharika yet to appoint candidates for two vacant deputy governor positions at Reserve Bank of Malawi; means empty seats in monetary policy committee meetings
Malaysia announces new coins’ circulation date
Bank Negara Malaysia announces new coins to enter circulation this month; new banknotes will not be released until the end of 2012