Central Banks
EBA unveils plans for 2016 stress tests
European Banking Authority publishes draft guidelines for stress-testing systemically important banks; some 53 banks will be tested from February 2016
Fischer defends Fed independence
Attempts to make the FOMC adopt a policy rule and 'audit’ its decisions would restrict the Fed’s independence without generating much benefit, Stanley Fischer argues
Rising mortgage rates do not demand policy response, says RBA’s Stevens
Recent increases in mortgage rates have reversed some of the central bank’s easing, but there is no need to lean against the movement at present, governor says
CFTC’s aim is 'not just' to expand clearing, Massad says
The agency will not 'mandate a lot of products just to increase clearing'
Improved inflation outlook gives Icelandic central bank room for manoeuvre
Shallower path for near-term inflation allows central bank to make smaller rate hike than planned, but the longer-term picture still shows inflation overshooting the target
Hungarian central bank mulls lower capital requirements for SME-friendly banks
Central bank looks to incentivise lending to small businesses; risk-absorbing swaps and 'preferential' deposit facility could be supplemented by lower requirements
Yellen would ‘welcome’ vice-chair of supervision
Fed chair says an appointment to the long-vacant post would be welcome, but stresses the ‘outstanding job’ board member Tarullo has done leading work in the area
Europe would benefit from more centralised macro-prudential tools, says ECB vice-president
Macro-prudential regulation of housing sector successful in UK, and the SSM should be in a position to set similar policy in the eurozone, Constâncio says
FSB finds fault with derivatives trade reporting
Despite large volumes of trades being reported, some authorities have restricted access to data, which is often low quality; some jurisdictions are experimenting with new analysis
Eurozone macro-prudential policy should be ‘streamlined’, says Belgian director
Mathias Dewatripont praises shared responsibility as a ‘clever idea’ at ECB forum, but acknowledges this ‘leads to some complex procedures’
Caruana favours flexible supervisory tools over constant regulatory reform
BIS head stresses the value of making flexible supervisory tools available on top of regulation to help keep up with financial market innovations
Ireland: Former financial stability chief and ex-governor clash over crisis
John Hurley firmly rejects an accusation from the former financial stability head of the Irish central bank that senior management suppressed research in the lead-up to the crisis
Bank of Israel unveils plans for better credit data gathering
Registry designed to improve both credit provision and financial stability; deputy governor says central bank has learnt from others while tackling what has been a major project
FSB finalises elements of global bank resolution framework
The raft of documents includes final principles for effective cross-border resolution actions; latest list of globally systemic banks also published
Inflation outcomes should not be sole criteria for judging performance, says RBNZ's McDermott
Assistant governor's comments come after policy reversal by RBNZ amid falling global commodity prices; staff article emphasises 'ex-ante' evaluation of monetary policy decisions
Research assesses South Africa’s vulnerability to Fed hike
Countries with large ratios of external financing needs to foreign exchange could be more vulnerable to Fed rate hikes, working paper finds
People: Finland names new head of statistics; RBI appoints executive director
Bank of Finland promotes head of macro-prudential analysis division to head of financial stability and statistics department; RBI gets new executive director; and more
Zambia hikes by 300bp as inflation almost doubles
Bank of Zambia increases policy rate to 15.5% in an effort to keep inflation expectations anchored in single digits; annual inflation jumps to 14.3% in October as kwacha slides
State Bank of Pakistan overhauling risk management, annual review says
Central bank is looking to improve its risk management approach, with work proceeding on an enterprise risk management system
BoE’s Bailey stresses need for true understanding on boards
Andrew Bailey says executive board members should be responsible for explaining complex matters in simple terms, rather than leaving non-executives to figure it out for themselves
PBoC monetary policy reform could be 'trial and error', economists warn
The Chinese central bank wrapped up a two-decade long interest rate liberalisation process last month – now the hard job begins