Central Banks
Afghan governor insists country’s biggest bank is solvent
Bank of Afghanistan governor Abdul Qadeer Fitrat refutes reports top officials at Kabul Bank have been fired due to corruption; stresses bank remains solvent as graft rumours threaten to spark run
Brown’s ex-spokesman denies Blair claim over Bank independence
Gordon Brown’s former spokesman Charlie Whelan says first Tony Blair knew about decision to grant Old Lady responsibility for setting rates was when Brown announced move after election
JP Morgan slashes commodity desks
Fate of other prop desks unclear ahead of enactment of Volcker Rule
Anti-Semitic remarks could end Sarrazin’s term at Buba
Bundesbank condemns executive board member Thilo Sarrazin for racist comments; will hold hearing before deciding on future
BoJ expands fixed-rate fund supply on growth, yen fears
Bank of Japan unveils six-month term to existing fixed-rate funds operation; facility to expand by $238 billion on fears of weak US growth, yen strength
Core principles mostly apply to micro lenders: Basel Committee
Basel Committee on Banking Supervision issues final report on applying core principles to microfinance providers; tweaks needed on credit risk, capital adequacy and risk management
Spanish debt office in negotiations on credit support annex thresholds
Government agency looks to alleviate funding costs for bank counterparties in swaps transactions
Focus on banks’ incentives must continue post-crisis: Bank’s Bean
Bank of England deputy governor Charles Bean says crisis focus on bank incentives must remain; financial market problems require macroprudential instruments
Debt to reserve ratio key indicator of country default: World Bank research
World Bank paper identifies ratio of debt to reserves as most important indicator of sovereign default
Banks’ role to be reduced in future financial system, IMF says
IMF position note says non-bank financial firms will see roles expand; IMF must refine its methods and broaden its view to keep up with changes
Kansas’s Hoenig calls for Fed to oversee mobile payments
Central bank is the only authority that will take holistic view of mobile payments security, Kansas Federal Reserve president Thomas Hoenig says
Unemployment caused by structural mismatch: Minneapolis Fed’s Kocherlakota
Minneapolis Federal Reserve president Narayana Kocherlakota analyses the breakdown between job openings and unemployment in the United States
Bernanke dismisses higher inflation targets, unconvinced on conditional commitment
Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke rejects higher inflation targets; says conditional rate commitment too risky, despite success in Canada
Too much expected of central banks: CentralBanking.com poll
CentralBanking.com poll shows more than 66% of readers think monetary authorities cannot be expected to boost growth and protect price stability
Riksbank's Öberg calls for careful policy normalisation
Riksbank first deputy governor Svante Öberg points to risk in returning benchmark rate to pre-crisis levels
Basel Committee defends adjustments to Basel III as calibration decisions loom
Regulators describe difficulties ahead as they prepare for Basel III calibration and transition decisions in September
Canada's Murray: 2% inflation target not necessarily optimal
Bank of Canada deputy John Murray says inflation targets could be even lower than 2%
BoJ slashes bonuses and top officials’ pay
Bank of Japan shaved $2 billion off 2009 expenditure through salary and spending cuts, annual report shows; lower banknote costs and interest payments also contributed to savings