Central Banks
RBNZ to cut costs despite need to implement major new projects
Central bank plans to cut costs and use resources more effectively following tighter funding deal; strategy includes payment systems upgrade, new banknote series and first stress tests
Croatian governor: Europe has a way to go with structural reforms
Boris Vujčić points to benefits of greater labour market flexibility and easier equity financing at IIF conference; Hungarian council member stresses need for productivity growth
Schäuble says Greek outcome now '50-50'
German finance minister warns against losing the ‘remaining credibility’ of the monetary union in speech in Frankfurt; debt negotiations finely poised with IMF deadline looming
Weidmann leads support for capital markets union
Bundesbank president says bank-based and market-based finance can be ‘complementary’, while Iosco secretary-general urges Europe to move quickly
ECB’s Constâncio calls for eurozone to cut back on debt
ECB vice-president says deleveraging has proceeded slowly so far due to growth concerns; emphasises debt reduction ought to be done using diverse measures, but says primary surpluses are key
BoJ paper sees signs of structural shift in pricing behaviour
Study finds rising exchange rate pass-through is in large part the result of a change in firms’ pricing behaviour, although why behaviour has changed remains unclear
Zeti urges central banks to ‘call the shots' on financial regulation
Bank Negara Malaysia governor makes the case for giving central banks regulatory powers over financial markets during Central Banking interview
San Francisco Fed research examines easing impact of Swiss reserves expansion
SNB asset purchases focused on short maturities still pushed down longer maturity yields, researchers find, which they say holds lessons for eurozone QE
US rules on foreign banks criticised by SRB’s König
Elke König, head of the eurozone's bank resolution authority, says US requirements for foreign banks to have a local holding company run counter to the single point-of-entry approach to resolution
Fischer: more research needed on stress testing
Fed vice-chair sees room for improvement in the design of stress testing; NY Fed’s McAndrews fleshes out possible research agenda
Negative deposit rate ‘turbocharges’ QE, economists say
Former ECB board member Lorenzo Bini Smaghi says negative rate ‘creates a multiplier effect’ that boosts impact of QE, a view shared by other panellists at Frankfurt conference
Weidmann warns Greek ELA could raise ‘serious monetary financing concerns’
Bundesbank president says the ongoing provision of emergency funds to Greek banks will be a problem if the cash is used to buy sovereign debt
Radical rethink of central banking is still possible
Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz's call for central banking to be "reinvented" is a timely reminder that others need to heed
Greece closer to default as creditors throw out latest proposals
Leaked copy of counterproposal by Greece’s creditors complete with red-inked changes shows agreement as far away as ever, with less than a week until major IMF repayment
German life insurers vulnerable to interest rate shock, research warns
Discussion paper finds life insurers could have experienced a policyholder run in 2013 if interest rates had risen 2.1 percentage points; says QE might make it hard for insurers to protect themselves
IMF paper: Indian monetary policy transmission is improving
Working paper examines credit channel of monetary policy in India, finding ‘significant, albeit slow’ transmission to the real economy and a gradual improvement over the past few years
Central Bank of Nigeria excludes importers from FX markets
Latest bid to relieve pressure on the naira sees wide range of importers and those looking to invest in foreign currency bonds and equities banned from making foreign exchange transactions
Aussie sovereign wealth fund readies for lower future returns
Australia's Future Fund has adopted a flexible approach to deal with a challenging yield environment
Danish central bank urges government to 'rein in' economy
National Bank of Denmark recommends countercyclical fiscal policy, including reformed housing taxes, as private sector growth has become strong enough to create risks
Central Bank of the Philippines receives international remittances award
Filipino central bank secures award by World Bank, European Commission and the United Nations for its efforts to broaden and deepen the country's financial markets
Bank Indonesia cracks down on ‘cash back' transactions
Central bank signs agreement allowing payments industry to seize card readers from merchants offering customers cash through fake credit card purchases
Bulgarian governor wants quick successor appointment to hasten his exit
Ivan Iskrov calls on parliament to elect a successor before the end of his term in October, bringing an end to a turbulent period in charge