Central Banks
Uzbek central bank launches mobile app to meet ‘growing needs’ of online audience
Users can view specimens of banknotes and coins and check the latest exchange rates; central bank expects it to be ‘popular’ among 3,000 people who visit website each day
Dallas Fed president praises India PM Modi
Richard Fisher describes Texas as the ‘crucible of US job creation', noting that without it US would not yet have reached pre-recession employment levels
Higher capital requirements lead to lower lending, study by Calomiris finds
Paper published today by the Bank of England finds ‘little evidence of interaction' between monetary policy and capital requirements; studies their impact on bank lending
Colombian working paper examines credit cycles in EMs
Researchers argue that central banks in emerging markets should focus on medium-term credit cycles when designing macro-prudential policy
Timor-Leste central bank green lights mobile money pilot
Initiative will allow users to execute payments, transfers and withdrawals through mobile phones, and follows the introduction of a ‘master plan’ for financial sector development
Kenyan governor points to financial inclusion success
Njuguna Ndung’u sees ‘bright’ future for Kenya’s financial system; points to growing financial inclusion and successful issuance of eurobond in international market
MAS seeks to widen retail access to Singapore bond market
Singapore’s central bank proposes a host of regulatory changes to ‘make it easier’ for retail investors to buy corporate bonds
Bank of England sets out rules for foreign bank branches
Branches lacking credible resolution plans could have their licences revoked, bank warns; insurance executive joins Prudential Regulation Authority board
Argentina’s central bank lowers cap on commercial bank dollar holdings
The objective is to improve the ‘market conditions’ of the economy, says a central bank official, but Steve Hanke argues it is a measure to prevent the dollarisation of the country
Dutch payments forum looking to ‘speed-up’ transfers
Frank Elderson hopes the forum’s plan will ‘spark real-time payment transfers’, noting this would require a ‘comprehensive renewal’ of market infrastructure
RBA governor says bank's ‘boring' monetary policy stance a success
Glenn Stevens notes external ‘search for yield' is bidding up real asset prices in Australia; most observers expect interest rates to remain low ‘for some time yet'
Final liquidity rules issued for biggest US banks
‘More stringent' liquidity coverage ratio will come into effect in January 2017; Fed adopts final rule on supplementary leverage ratio, asks for input on swap margin rules
ECB cuts rates and launches asset purchases
Central bank cuts refinance rate to 0.05% and deposit rate to -0.2%; Draghi unveils plans to buy asset-backed securities and covered bonds
People: Bundesbank names head of research centre; Kyrgyz sheds two advisers
Bundesbank poaches Emanuel Mönch from New York Fed; Kyrgyz central bank loses two advisers to chairman; HKMA executive director set to move to IMF
Chile’s central bank governor laments ‘weak performance’ of economy
The central bank lowered the projection for annual GDP growth this year to 1.75–2.25%, while it now expects inflation to hit 4.1%
RBI's Joshi: Direct benefit transfers a ‘game changer' but have ‘not progressed smoothly enough'
Indian financial inclusion initiative needs government streamlining and the help of commercial banks to work, says Deepali Pant Joshi
South Africa’s central bank opens investigation on African Bank business
The investigation will determine if ’any business of African Bank was conducted recklessly, negligently or with the intent to defraud depositors’, the central bank says
IMF deems Czech exchange rate floor appropriate ‘for now’
Latest staff report commends CNB’s decision to intervene in foreign exchange market; supports the floor but says it should be removed ‘as soon as conditions allow’
Olli Rehn: Scotland would need central bank to join EU
Independent Scotland would not be able to both keep the pound sterling and join the EU, former commissioner argues, referring to ‘core part' of union treaty
Bank of Portugal initiates administrative proceedings against 14 banks in first half of 2014
Throughout the period the Portuguese central bank also issued 357 recommendations 'to require the correction of irregularities and infringements detected'
Lautenschläger expects SSM to expand beyond eurozone
Supervisory board vice-chair ‘anticipates’ that more countries will join the SSM when it is up and running; ECB has not received any formal applications to date