Central Banks
Kenya could quadruple central bank capital
Kenya looks set to replace the piecemeal legislation governing the central bank; new bill would boost its capital levels, reduce government influence and increase the governor’s term
FOMC member says 3% growth would prompt fed funds rate 'lift-off'
Atlanta Fed president Dennis Lockhart advocates a 'dashboard' approach to forward guidance and says quantitative easing is tapering 'predictably'
Central Bank of Brazil raises Selic rate amid uptick in inflation
Central Bank of Brazil hikes rate by 25bp to 11% following upward revision of inflation for 2014; analysts predict an end to year-long tightening cycle
Draghi opens door to QE as ECB holds
European Central Bank president Mario Draghi says governing council discussed asset purchases in latest meeting; votes to hold rate despite more disinflation
Countries in monetary union should index sovereign debt to GDP growth
Bank of England working paper finds GDP-indexed bonds should be used more widely, especially by countries with volatile GDP growth or in monetary unions
Kenya's M-Pesa mobile money app launches in Romania
East European country is the first territory in Europe to get the mobile cash transfer technology, which also launched in India last year
Bank of Canada looks to anecdotal evidence amid economic models' ‘weakening performance'
Governor Stephen Poloz says experiences of faltering economic models last year has led the bank to focus increasingly on surveys and meetings with local businesses
Lagarde calls for co-ordination to contain ‘spillovers' and ‘spillbacks'
Speech warns advanced economies they can suffer from negative feedback when their policies cause spillovers in emerging markets
Fed switches MBS purchases to proprietary platform
The New York Fed, which implements FOMC policies, will start using its FedTrade platform to buy mortgage-backed securities later this month
Chilean peso's precipitious fall is 'desirable', says Vergara
Central Bank of Chile governor Rodrigo Vergara says floating exchange rate regime has absorbed terms of trade shock and tightening of international financial conditions
Bank of England paper estimates effects of monetary policy
A new approach outlined in a Bank of England working paper avoids three major pitfalls in estimating monetary policy's effect on growth and inflation
Carney-led FSB aims at international regulatory convergence
As systemically important banks internalise tougher regulatory environments, cross-border divergence in regimes may diminish, says FSB chair Mark Carney
Bank of Namibia replaces ‘ageing’ banknotes one year after issuance
Central bank reissued the lowest denomination banknotes in its 2012 banknote series after they were found to be ‘ageing faster than expected’
New Zealand’s loan restrictions finding their mark
Banks are reigning in their high loan-to-value ratio loans in response to central bank’s macro-prudential measures; IMF backs ‘tight limits’
Zöllner: Asset managers are biggest non-bank FX traders
Head of banking at Bank for International Settlements highlights growing role of non-bank market participants in FX
Cyclical character of US unemployment makes monetary policy a remedy, says Yellen
Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen argues cyclical character of US unemployment renders monetary policy an important tool in fighting it
RBI holds rates as inflation follows ‘glide path’
Central bank holds key rate at 8% as tighter policy works its way through the economy; household inflation expectations continue to fall
Richmond Fed study shows 'dramatic crossover' in payment methods of US citizens
Study evaluates Fed data tracking 2,500 participants making close to 13,000 payments during three days in October 2012, shows many seniors sticking to mail as main payment method
Germany pips UK to renminbi clearing deal
Deutsche Bundesbank signs MoU with People’s Bank of China three days before the Bank of England; agreements pave way for first two clearing banks outside Asia
Too big to fail subsidy was worth up to $300bn in eurozone in 2012, IMF says
A report in this year's Global Financial Stability Review says that while excluding the possibility of government support may not be possible, ways should be found of making banks pay for it
Retail fund exposures make EMs more sensitive to shocks, IMF says
IMF report examines make-up of emerging market bond and equity investors to find what lies behind increased susceptibility to global volatility
International policy co-ordination is a 'fair weather' phenomenon, says Carstens
Bank of Mexico's Augustin Carstens says 'massive inflows' were driven by carry trade; argues macro-prudential measures 'no substitute' for strong fundamentals
ECB’s Cœuré warns CCPs could become ‘too big to fail’
Benoît Cœuré says the systemic effects of central clearing are ‘undoubtedly positive’ on aggregate, but raises concerns over the concentration of risk in a few large global CCPs
Philippines central bank backs 'vital’ reforms
Central Bank of the Philippines welcomes plans for $3.3 billion recapitalisation and new mandate; looks set to receive new supervisory powers and monetary policy instruments