Central Banks
Portuguese governor calls for powers to act ‘just in time’
Carlos Costa argues that legislative changes are necessary to give national supervisors greater agility when it comes to intervening in failing banks
SNB speaks out against 'gold initiative'
Swiss National Bank rejects proposals to prevent it from selling gold; Jean-Pierre Danthine argues that ‘currency reserves that cannot be sold are not truly reserves’
Buba official warns against tapping ESM for investment
Andreas Dombret says using portion of ESM funds to finance investment in infrastructure would ‘greatly reduce effectiveness’ of rescue fund
People: RBI names three new executive directors; Former vice-governor returns to Bank of Portugal
Reserve Bank of India promotes three new executive directors and reshuffles portfolios; João Costa Pinto rejoins Bank of Portugal; Rafi Melnick departs Bank of Israel
New York Fed’s Potter fleshes out normalisation plans
Vice-president responsible for open market operations gives details on how the Fed will use interest on excess reserves and reverse repos to raise its interest rate
Netherlands Bank flags risk from ECB asset purchases
Markets are positive about the ECB's efforts to ease monetary policy, but unconventional measures carry the risk of pumping up asset bubbles, Dutch financial stability review warns
Former Argentine governor under federal investigation
Juan Carlos Fábrega is under investigation from a federal prosecutor, accused of corruption and connections in the black market
BoJ paper details approach to macro stress testing
Tests feature model of feedback loop between economic and financial sectors, in attempt to gauge the ways in which shocks may reverberate through the economy
Banks should offer ‘equal service’ when facing a run, research finds
Working paper published by the Bank of Portugal analyses models of bank runs, and finds equal service leads to a faster recovery
Bank of Russia sells $1.4 billion to prop up ruble
Central bank intervenes in foreign exchange market to support currency as it continues to slide against the US dollar; commentators split over prospect of rate hike
IMF calls for ‘modified pari passu clauses’ in new international sovereign bonds
Executive board supports contractual reforms making process of sovereign debt restructuring ‘more orderly’; Staff paper outlines stronger collective action clauses
Ekholm leaves Riksbank for post in finance ministry
Dovish deputy quits her term early to become state secretary to Sweden's new finance minister; vocal critic of central bank's ‘lean against the wind' policy
Basel Committee finds banks’ op risk frameworks lacking
Review finds systemically important banks have made ‘insufficient progress’ in implementing op risk principles; Committee outlines recalibrated versions of its op risk capital models
Polish paper explores market perception of sovereign credit risk
Working paper finds macroeconomic and institutional developments were 'weakly correlated’ with market perception of sovereign credit risk in eurozone during crisis
Central Bank of Ireland proposes lending restrictions
Irish central bank proposes three ‘speed limits’ on banks’ mortgage lending, as it looks to create a ‘stable and well-functioning’ market
Rates: BoJ maintains pace of asset purchases; RBA holds steady
Bank of Japan continues pace of asset programme despite some dissenters; RBA holds rates with growth persisting below target and signs of spare capacity
RBI deputy targets ‘more vibrant’ FX market
Harun Khan says Indian foreign exchange market has ‘come a long way’, but a number of challenges remain; rupee has stabilised in the past few months
BIS paper investigates factors behind birth and death of benchmarks
Working paper studies ‘benchmark tipping’, finding that although many government rates are being displaced by private benchmarks, China and Brazil may develop new government bond futures markets
IMF's Blanchard warns macro-prudential tools ‘may not be up to the task'
Chief economist outlines benefits of debt-financed infrastructure projects in the eurozone at opening of IMF and World Bank annual meeting
Significance of Swedish debt levels for Riksbank policy ‘exaggerated', says deputy
Per Jansson says expansive policy helped Sweden manage crisis better than many other countries; adds higher inflation is Riksbank's top priority