Central Banks
Fed’s Jeffrey Lacker quits over information leak
Richmond Fed president resigns after admitting he leaked information from the September 2012 FOMC meeting; Lacker failed to report indiscretion on three occasions
Irish governor says bank is taking tough action on loan malpractice
Total of €78 million paid so far in compensation, Lane says
Fed paper searches for optimal bank capital
Study weighs higher cost of equity against the reduction in costly financial crises implied by higher capital, estimating an optimal figure
Senior central bank officials defend globalisation
Dombret and Mminele argue against the idea that globalisation is causing high unemployment and low growth, while stressing the negative impacts of protectionist trade policies
IMF praises Ukrainian central bank while disbursing $1 billion
IMF deputy managing director calls for continued support for central bank’s reforms
Debelle sets timeframe for adoption of forex global code
Market participants will have six to 12 months to adjust practices once the code is published on May 25
RBI’s Patel gets pay rise but remains cheap by G20 standards
RBI governor sees his pay increase somewhat relative to his predecessor, but other G20 governors and even other RBI staff earn substantially more
Buyers of risk in CDS market highly exposed, ECB paper finds
Researchers analyse credit default swap market using data from 2011 to 2014
Kosovo central bank joins supervisory agreement with EBA and neighbours
Supervisors from five other parts of former Yugoslavia joined in 2015
ECB set for €50 note launch
The European Central Bank is to launch the fourth banknote in the new Europa series on April 4; the new note will retain design elements from previous series, but will feature revamped security features
Tucker: policymakers should focus on resilience and clarity
Central banks would gain legitimacy if they could better explain their models of systemic crises, and if politicians specified a particular risk tolerance, says former BoE deputy governor Paul Tucker
Icelandic leaders clash on possible peg
Prime minister challenges finance minister’s assertion that the krona needs to be pegged; government launches review of exchange rate policy
Uncertainty matters for forward guidance success – BoE paper
Authors show that introducing uncertainty generates significantly different macroeconomic effects, with implications for policymaking
Asset purchases could bring benefits in ‘normal’ times – paper
IMF working paper discusses whether asset purchases should be added to standard central bank toolkit; the policies seem more effective at combatting financial shocks than supply shocks
Haldane: central banks could ‘gamify’ communications
The game Monopoly could be the next tool in central bank’s communication toolbox, Haldane says, warning complex language breeds distrust
Eurozone instability tops reserve manager fears – survey
Threat of instability or weakness in the eurozone and fear of major asset price correction are greatest concerns for reserve managers in 2017, Central Banking survey shows
Bank of Finland publishes China and Russia forecasts
Chinese targets “encourage data manipulation”; Russia stalls on structural reforms
Fed’s Dudley discusses unwinding of balance sheet
Should reinvestment end “abruptly”, financial conditions would tighten, New York Fed president said; tapering “gradually and predictably” is the way to go, he adds
BoJ builds on BIS banking statistics
Researchers break down the statistics further, shedding new light on patterns of cross-border banking
ECB criticises draft Polish law on foreign-denominated loans
Draft bill could be even more expensive than previously abandoned proposal, ECB says
Ghanaian president nominates economist as governor
Ernest Addison is a lead regional economist at the African Development Bank
Inflation worries prompt further action from Mexico
Mexico slows pace of rate hikes amid inflation worries and volatile exchange rate; monetary policy committee will closely watch US economy, latest announcement says
Bank of Israel revamps policy communications
New approach to communicating monetary policy decisions as committee moves to an eight-meeting cycle
Bahamas further relaxes capital controls
Specific sectors of the economy will be able to obtain foreign exchange from banks both at home and abroad; non-resident firms to gain credit from international banks licensed in the Bahamas