Central Banks
Central Bank of Venezuela seen in debt reshuffle
The central bank will reportedly buy securities from the country's mining corporation with debt accumulated from the state-owned oil company
Trichet calls on Troika to ‘gradually disappear’
Former ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet defends the central bank’s role in the Troika; says the group should be phased out as policy-makers move away from curing crises and towards preventing them
Belarussian presidential decree sets out 2014 forward guidance
Belarus central bank's key refinancing rate will average between 14% and 16%, according to monetary policy guidelines approved by the president; exchange rate will be based on market forces
Lautenschläger rejects German stereotypes as she closes in on ECB job
Sabine Lautenschläger tells the European Parliament she will not imitate either Weidmann or Asmussen if she is appointed to ECB’s executive board; calls for governing council to publish minutes
RBI’s Mohanty lays out approach to rising food prices
The Reserve Bank of India will have to perform 'a careful balancing act' if it steps in to mitigate rising food prices, says executive director Deepak Mohanty
Nigeria's Sanusi to serve out full term after ‘reconciling' with Jonathan
Nigerian central bank governor and president said to put aside their ‘differences' after Goodluck Jonanthan reportedly demanded Sanusi's immediate resignation for allegedly leaking politically sensitive information
Bundesbank paper finds benefits in concentrated bank lending
Researchers find that banks with more concentrated credit portfolios have lower expected write-offs and unexpected risk than their counterparts
Basel Committee publishes leverage ratio definition
Basel Committee agrees common definition for simple bank leverage ratio; discussions set to continue over the appropriate required level
ECB unveils new €10 note
Yves Mersch presents the design of the new €10 banknote in Frankfurt; equipped with new security features to help keep rising counterfeit rates in check
MAS says lack of global regulatory standard for virtual currencies cause for concern
Singapore's monetary authority and chief financial regulator singles out the likes of Bitcoin as a potential conduit for illicit activities, in survey on money laundering and terrorism financing
Turkmen central bank chief replaced with former deputy
Tuvakmammet Japarov becomes the sixth governor in 12 years to be sacked from the job; replaced by Gochmurat Muradov who served as his deputy between 2011 and 2012
Central bank of the year: The People's Bank of China
The PBoC has anchored market-based reform in China by curbing excesses in the financial system while pressing ahead with interest rate and capital account reform at a time of major political change
The winners of the inaugural Central Banking awards
Paul Volcker, Mario Draghi, People's Bank of China, Central Bank of Colombia, Sveriges Riksbank, Bank of Spain, BlackRock, Northern Trust, VocaLink and OpenLink win inaugural Central Banking awards
Reserve manager of the year: Central Bank of Colombia
The Central Bank of Colombia’s dynamic reserves management strategy and impressive performance amidst turmoil in the US dollar and emerging market currencies made it stand out from the crowd
Governor of the year: Mario Draghi
Unflappable conviction and outstanding leadership has enabled ECB president Mario Draghi to decisively restore confidence in crisis-hit Europe
Global custodian of the year: Northern Trust
A clear and committed focus on servicing assets on behalf of sovereign clients – both big and small – combined with a robust technology platform made Northern Trust stand out last year
Asset manager of the year: BlackRock
Improved customer service and impressive investment capabilities in all types of strategies across a wide range of asset classes around the world made BlackRock the stand-out asset manager in 2013
Payments and clearing technology provider of the year: VocaLink
VocaLink has excelled by building the infrastructure for a new accounts switching service in the UK and exporting its pioneering Faster Payments platform overseas
BoJ’s Shirai warns against rush for 2% inflation at all costs
Sayuri Shirai says it ‘may be appropriate’ to take longer than two years to meet the central bank’s inflation target of 2%; stresses the importance of achieving the goal in a ‘stable’ manner
Philippines governor recounts emergency measures after Typhoon Haiyan
Amando Tetangco also says the central bank is well-equipped to deal with financial turbulence in the coming year
ECB deflects parliament questions on troika
European Central Bank publishes response to a European Parliament questionnaire on the financial assistance programmes brokered by the troika; Irish governor praises ‘rigorous adherence’ to fiscal goals
Stanley Fischer nominated Fed vice-chair
US President also nominates Lael Brainard, a former US Treasury under-secretary, to the Federal Reserve board, while Jerome Powell, on the board since 2012, is nominated for a second term