Central Banks
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
Bank of Lithuania invests $100 million into Chinese capital markets
Central bank becomes one of the first in Europe to invest in Chinese securities, as part of a new investment policy seeking higher returns
BoE unveils draft rules for ring-fencing UK banks
Prudential regulator issues consultation on rules relating to legal structure, governance and maintaining core operations; Andrew Tyrie welcomes structural recommendations
Polish paper examines impact of foreign currency loans
Foreign currency loans restrict the transmission of monetary policy to the real economy but do not have a 'significant' impact on efficacy of macro-prudential measures, paper finds
Swift resists ‘political pressure' to disconnect Russian and Israeli banks
Brussels-based cooperative says calls for exclusion undermines ‘systemic global character' of its services; previously condemned EU parliament resolution in September
RBA’s Stevens lauds ‘substantial’ progress towards real-time payments
Reserve Bank governor says Australia is now closer to delivering ‘real-time, data-rich payments’; first meeting of the Australian Payments Council expected this month
Kganyago picked to succeed Marcus as Sarb governor
Deputy governor Lesetja Kganyago says he ‘will not disappoint’ as next Sarb governor; Gill Marcus says the appointment ‘reflects the depth of talent and skill’ in the central bank
Bank of Portugal intensifies central bank cooperation programme
The Bank of Portugal completed 105 projects by September this year; the majority of which were conducted with central banks from other Portuguese-speaking countries
People: Swedish first deputy joins Danish FSA board; Bank of Russia names national payments head
Kerstin af Jochnick is handed a two-year term on the Danish FSA board; Bank of Russia appoints Alla Bakina to lead national payments department; Iosco chair re-appointed
Central bank independence key focus of Brazilian elections
With the central bank’s autonomy a hot topic in the build-up to this weekend’s presidential elections, specialists are divided on the benefits of greater independence
Czech economy generating ‘noticeable inflationary pressures’
Czech National Bank board members point to ‘rapid’ rise in wages as indicator of inflationary pressures, but remain concerned by price developments in the eurozone
Lagarde sees black clouds over monetary policy normalisation
IMF managing director underlines risk of spillover effects as Fed winds down monetary easing; says ‘asynchronous’ normalisation could come back to bite advanced economies
Fixing Libor needs more work, says NY Fed’s Dudley
NY Fed president says gaps in the Libor framework still need to be plugged; Fed and FSB working on solutions
Ingves: Equal implementation of Basel III a ‘major challenge'
Basel Committee chairman says Swedish banks' interconnectedness and reliance on wholesale funding justify higher capital requirements than Basel III minimum
Central Bank of Nigeria implements ‘sanctions screening' service to combat financial crime
Swift service helping banks meet global best practices on financial crime will be functional in January; step towards realising 2020 ‘payment system vision'
IMF encourages Kenya central bank to set-up forecast unit
Staff report with Kenya praises the evolution of the central bank’s forecasting model and recommends creation of dedicated unit; wary of rising food prices and credit growth