Feature
Regulating Islamic finance: a primer
Claire Jones outlines how and by whom Islamic finance is regulated
Financial reform, Fed independence and the political economy of monetary policy
The 2010 Financial Reform Act will weaken the independence of the Federal Reserve. Looking at the central bank’s history and its political economy allows us to appreciate why, Thomas F. Cargill argues
Off with their Fed
The past six months have witnessed the Federal Reserve come under attack on issues ranging from its mandate to its discharge of its duties. Ramya Jaidev reports
The dangers of relying on point in time
With Basel III, regulators have a chance to improve models used by banks to manage risk. However, they risk repeating past mistakes, says Patricia Jackson
Liquidity regulation and its consequences
The Basel Committee’s proposals for liquidity buffers could have some dangerous side effects, William Allen warns
The People’s Bank of China’s battle on two fronts
Events both at home and abroad have kept China’s central bank busy in recent months. Hui Feng reports.
Forrest Capie’s Bank anecdotes
William M. Clarke and Robert Pringle select some amusing excerpts from a new history of the Bank of England.
Explaining the crisis and informing the future
Frank Vibert examines how analyses of the fundamental causes of the financial crisis are shaping the policy debate
The euro funding gap and its consequences
The crisis has highlighted that the euro is far from a true reserve currency. That has worrying implications, argue Annina Kaltenbrunner, Duncan Lindo, Juan Pablo Painceira and Alexis Stenfors
Data and the crisis: gaps, initiatives and challenges
The crisis has highlighted a number of holes in financial data. Much has already done to plug them, writes Alfredo Leone.
Underpinning systemic stability - the case for standards
Measures designed to make the financial system safer may not achieve their aim. There is a better way, Sir Andrew Large and Sir David Walker argue
The StabFund: a look at the inner workings of a 'bad bank'
Marcel Zimmermann and Zoltan Szelyes explain how the Swiss National Bank managed to strengthen the country’s largest financial institution at the height of the crisis by creating a bad bank.
Communicating macroprudential policy
A sound communications strategy can enhance the impact of macroprudential policy actions and build the political support needed for such steps, Tim Ng writes
The unintended consequences of the new prudential framework
The new regulatory code could have some dangerous side effects, Jacques de Larosière writes
Conflicts of interest and systemic risk
In regulating against conflicts of interest, central bankers will have to study exactly how each major bank is making its profits in future, John Chown argues
Are CoCos from cloud cuckoo-land?
The rationale for requiring banks to hold contingent capital is right. However, the mechanics of their operation and market implications may be subject to doubt, argues Charles Goodhart.
Welcome to Twin Peaks
The decision by the British government to adopt the Twin Peaks model of financial regulation represents a significant turnaround in the Bank of England’s political fortunes, writes Michael Taylor.
Tokyo story
Robert Pringle reports from Tokyo on how the crisis has impacted Japan’s outlook.
Why monetary base control can offer stability
There is a way of replicating the big achievements of the gold standard without going back to gold, argue Brendan Brown and Robert Pringle.
Why attitudes to gold have changed
Jill Leyland investigates why the events of recent years, in particular the financial crisis, have tipped the balance away from net official sector selling towards net buying of gold.
Politics is hampering national wealth management
Poor communication and differing incentives between politicians and national wealth managers are undermining performance, argues Gary Smith.
Rethinking reserve management
The crisis demands a rethink on both the size and composition of central banks’ reserves, argues Ludek Niedermayer.
How Ireland is reforming its central bank
A change of leadership offers Ireland’s central bank an opportunity to assert its independence from the country’s much maligned political and banking elite. It is doing much to grasp it, Claire Jones finds.
Preventing system failure
A model borrowed from ecology offers new insights for policymakers in how to understand and combat systemic risk, writes Claire Jones.