Central Banks
EBA does not object to further macro-prudential measures for Belgian banks
The European Banking Authority clears the way for Belgium’s central bank to tighten macro-prudential measures affecting housing exposures; calls for changes in regulatory framework
Mexico’s stress tests reveal some institutions remain ‘vulnerable’ in extreme scenarios
Stress tests indicate that even in adverse scenarios banking sector remains sound; some banks and investment funds are vulnerable to extreme scenarios, including interest rate adjustments
UK regulators refuse to comply with part of EU bonus cap
FCA and PRA say they will not be imposing European bonus cap rules on small firms, arguing CRD IV’s proportionality principle has not been properly applied
Indian government unveils final MPC design
Bill has been amended to cut committee size to six and give governor a casting vote in the event of a tie; government also pressing ahead with plans to clean up banking sector
Paper looks at macro-prudential impact on mortgage affordability
Working paper assesses how macro-prudential policies influence the share of households that can “access and sustain” a mortgage at different loan-to-value ratios
Central American central banks move to upgrade regional payment system
Central bank governors from Central America draw up action plan, detailing faster payment times; Costa Rica to be fully integrated in ‘short space of time’
People: Haitian ex-governor appointed prime minister; Egyptian ex-governor rejoins largest bank
Ex-governor becomes interim premier amid severe political instability; Egyptian ex-governor returns to country’s largest commercial bank; Venezuelan central bank appoints new director
Wholesale funding shocks hit credit supply, paper finds
Shocks to securities and interbank lending markets have significant effects on banks’ supply of credit, an ECB paper finds; researchers use monthly loan data for eurozone banks
IMF to publish informal briefings on Argentina
Staff compile informal briefings on countries when they fail to complete Article IV consultations; IMF will grant request from Argentina to publish those produced 2013-2015
Greek governor calls for ‘bold and innovative’ action on non-performing loans
Greek economy should start a modest recovery in the second half of 2016, but the government must hit bailout programme targets and take bold action on non-performing loans, governor says
Eurozone sovereign debt crisis has increased financial fragmentation, paper argues
Eurozone corporate bonds have different risk premia according to which country a company is headquartered in, paper argues; fragmentation has ‘dampened effectiveness’ of ECB policy
Carney airs scepticism on negative rates
Bank of England governor warns negative rates may only work through exchange rate channel, which would result in a ‘zero sum game’
Democratic Republic of Congo moves to stabilise currency following unscheduled MPC meeting
Central bank outlines plans to sell foreign currency and increase reserve requirements; calls on government for supporting measures
RBI paper questions impact of global spillovers
Authors find money and credit markets in India are largely unaffected by spillovers, although there is an impact via debt markets and the indirect effects of global growth and inflation
Denmark focuses on long-dated issuance amid low rates
National Bank of Denmark’s 2016 debt issuance strategy uses long maturities to reduce interest rate risk as low rates hold down costs; return to more normal footing after last year’s suspension
PBoC's Zhou dismisses talk of renminbi devaluation ahead of G20 meetings
Chinese governor says country is 'opposed' to competitive devaluations; argues capital outflows likely to subside given 'strong fundamentals'
Money matters: need for a monetary aggregate revival?
Evidence from the years of the Great Recession justify renewed attention to a broadly defined concept of the quantity of money in central bank research
UK regulator wants banks to sell their stake in payments infrastructure
PSR says the ownership of infrastructure by a handful of banks damages competition and innovation; unveils a raft of proposals, including forcing banks to sell their interest in VocaLink
Germans have unexplained high cash preference – Bundesbank article
Germans have a much higher tendency to use cash for larger transactions, article in a first edition of a new Bundesbank publication says