Central Banks
Apra suspends bank licence issuance
Prudential regulator will continue to review applications while six-month suspension is in place
Bank of England to lend directly to government
Central bank agrees temporary expansion of “Ways and Means” facility
Israeli reserves fall sharply on dollar liquidity provision
Central bank’s portfolio decreases by $5.1 billion in March
BIS paper finds little evidence of ‘liquidity trap’
Monetary policy remains effective even very close to the lower bound, economists find
Kosovan central bank rolling out response to coronavirus shock
Governor Fehmi Mehmeti says economy is vulnerable but the central bank is taking action
ECB takes unprecedented steps to preserve credit provision
Central bank accepts state-guaranteed loans as collateral, reduces haircuts, and raises limit on unsecured bank bonds in collateral pool
Thailand’s central bank throws support line to SMEs
Businesses will be eligible for new financing facility and payment holiday
Central banks may have to become ‘dealers of last resort’ – BIS economists
EMEs have not overcome “original sin” by deepening local currency bond markets, authors warn
Banque de France predicts 6% economic contraction
Confinement laws have had a significant impact on activity
RBNZ to start buying local government debt
Central bank expands its large-scale asset purchases in the wake of the Covid-19 shock
Riksbank expands incentives for lending to small firms
Central bank continues with flurry of crisis-fighting measures
People: Sarb and BoE renew senior appointments
Senior Sarb and BoE officials receive new terms; MAS picks new assistant managing director; ECB appoints director; William Dudley takes consulting job
ECB buys Italian bonds well above capital key in March
Central bank bought €11.8 billion in Italian sovereign bonds last month, up from €2.2 billion in February
Bank of Thailand advocates washing banknotes
Central bank says “mild detergent” or soapy water will be enough
Bank of Mexico lacks scope to counter Covid-19 – minutes
Officials highlight limited scope to lower rates below 6.5% without stoking inflation
Is the ESM the eurozone’s best weapon against Covid-19?
Eurobonds face economic and political hurdles, say former officials
Bank of Israel launches targeted lending operations
Central bank offers cheap loans to banks as part of Covid-19 response package; research department estimates point to major growth impact from virus
China cuts rate on excess reserves for first time in 12 years
PBoC levels up stimulus, cutting rate on excess reserves while reducing RRR for the third time this year
Riksbank picks ECB’s Tips for instant krona settlement system
Central bank preparing system for round-the-clock settlement in Swedish krona
HKMA staff to get 2.5% pay increase
Senior staff, including chief executive Eddie Yue, request pay freeze
Should the Fed be next to implement yield curve control?
The Reserve Bank of Australia is now the second G20 central bank trying to control longer-term interest rates. Could the Fed be next?
The IFF China Report 2020: Financial stability
When US President Donald Trump introduced tariffs on Chinese exports in 2018 it upset the world order and dampened economic growth. China responded in force, asking its firms to find alternative sellers for US exports. As a result, it has bought…