Central Banks
PBoC and ECB announce ‘successful’ swap line tests
Tests in April and November provided ‘symbolic amounts’ of euro and renminbi liquidity, involving a ‘limited number’ of counterparties
ECB welcomes draft Portuguese law on banknote production
Proposals would remove requirement that Bank of Portugal must own 51% of legal entity responsible for banknote production; could pave way for closer co-operation with other NCBs
Irish central bank defends retention payments to key staff
Ireland’s central bank has defended its decision to pay retention payments to key members of staff despite criticism by local politicians; a senior civil servant will look into the payments
Policy-makers must drop ‘obsession’ with competitiveness, Cœuré says
Policy-makers must drop their ‘obsession’ with competitiveness and focus on increasing productivity instead, Benoît Cœuré says; researchers need to question assumptions of ‘conventional’ theory
Enforcement of global FX code of conduct still a work in progress, Debelle says
Reserve Bank of Australia’s Debelle notes the FX market is regulated differently from one jurisdiction to another when asked about enforcement of the planned global code
Researchers find ‘strong evidence’ of ECB policy spillovers to CEE countries
Working paper examines the spillover effects of the ECB’s ‘non-standard’ measures since 2007 on the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Romania
Riksbank steps up debt warnings in stability report
An absence of measures to address high asset prices and rising debt could result in a ‘serious’ shock with ‘great’ consequences for the economy, Swedish central bank warns
ECB flags threat of ‘abrupt reversal’ in risk premia
Latest review identifies two ‘medium-level systemic risks’ to the eurozone's financial stability, weak profitability prospects for banks and a potential ‘sharp adjustment’ in risk premia
Buch keen for macro-prudential tools despite no guarantee of use in ‘near future’
Bundesbank’s deputy president says it is important the authorities have the ability to nip ‘any unwelcome developments’ in the real estate market in the bud, should they arise
Foreign productivity shocks major influence on small, open economies, paper argues
Shocks in large economies, particularly to technology, have a large effect on the business cycles of small, open economies, a Norges Bank working paper shows using a DGSE model
German interbank contagion risk concentrated around four large banks, paper argues
German researchers propose new model to calculate costs of interbank contagion
Nigeria cuts rates to encourage growth in ‘bold’ decision
The central bank lowers the policy rate by 200bps as part of a package of measures aimed at supporting growth and easing credit conditions
China permits central banks to trade forex derivatives based on Isda agreements
China allows derivatives trading based on international standard agreement for the first time; applies only to sovereign investors and foreign exchange derivatives
Fed to encourage supervisory staff to air divergent views
Federal Reserve will develop practices encouraging staff to exchange and respond to divergent views in 2016; New York Fed and Richmond Fed boost supervisory resources following review
EBA: European bank capital improving but concerns remain over profits and assets
European banks are improving their capital and leverage ratios but are suffering from low levels of profitability and problems with non-performing loans, transparency exercise finds
BoE advised to publish record of joint MPC/FPC meetings
Treasury Committee advises Bank of England to publish material from joint meetings of the MPC and FPC
Main threat to stability from low growth, says Italian deputy
Fabio Panetta says there is ‘broad agreement’ the main danger to financial stability in the eurozone stems from low growth; credit growth ‘remains subdued’