Bank for International Settlements (BIS)
Money illusion may not be irrational – BIS paper
Claudio Borio and Anna Zabai suggest people’s attachment to a unit of account is not simply a failure to think in real terms, with implications for the effectiveness of negative rates
CPMI digs into data on correspondent banking pull-back
Study based on Swift data and banking interviews sheds light on uneven pace of decline in correspondent banking; CPMI offers recommendations to help reverse direction of travel
Report calls for co-operation in appraising macroprudential tools
Research led by Anne Le Lorier for Basel Committee on the Global Financial System says governance arrangements should promote “wider co-operation”
People: RBI and Bank Negara Malaysia promote deputies from within
Indian and Malaysian central banks both choose senior officials from within the organisation to fill deputy governor posts; BIS appoints new secretary-general; and more
Asian central banks shift bond funds towards local currency debt
Eleven East Asia-Pacific central banks agree to close fund for buying US dollar debt issued in the region and invest the money in local currency debt instead
Danish central bank urges Basel to rethink parameter floors
Lars Rohde warns parameter floors in IRB approaches could create an incentive for greater risk-taking in some markets, in response to Basel Committee consultation
BIS: Central banks playing for 'high stakes' as financial cycles turn
Central banks need to lean against financial cycles but fiscal policy should come to their aid, BIS says; cycles may be turning in opposite directions in advanced and emerging economies
Inclusion survey identifies ‘significant gaps’ in data collection
Report published by Irving Fisher Committee on Central Bank Statistics highlights issues around how data is collected, including lack of integration with national statistical frameworks
Steps still needed for renminbi to become reserve currency – BIS head of banking
BIS’s Zöllner considers whether renminbi will become reserve currency; continued modernisation of market infrastructure needed, he says
LatAm policy-makers were possibly ‘excessively optimistic’ over economic potential, BIS paper says
Downplaying commodity super-cycle may have led to incorrect assessment of economic potential in Latin America, paper says; may have skewed monetary and fiscal policies
Dollar strength behind breakdown in economic paradigm, says Shin
BIS head of research points to failure of covered interest parity post-2008, with the strength of the US dollar correlated with the size of market anomalies
Beware the bond price snapback, says BIS’s da Silva
Poor understanding of inflation drivers and possible disequilibrium from ultra-low rates mean emerging markets should not get too comfortable, says deputy general manager
BIS paper: money growth-inflation link weakens, credit link grows
Authors find money growth is less important in driving price changes, but credit growth is becoming a more critical factor in financial crises
Central bankers recognise technology as both friend and foe
Speakers at BIS conference see technology reshaping markets and regulation for better and worse, as Andrew Lo argues solution is to make the technology cope better with human “foibles”
Central bankers hail first phase of global forex code
Central banks say they will adhere to new global code and hold their counterparties to a similar standard, as BIS working group unveils first part of project
BIS’s Tissot says micro data can plug macro gaps
Data is abundant in many areas, but making micro data work with macro is still proving tricky for statisticians, says BIS head of statistics
People: Lithuania reappoints governor; Carstens retains BIS posts
Vitas Vasiliauskas handed second five-year term; Carstens will continue to chair the BIS’s global economy meeting and economic consultative committee; ex-Iceland governor to run for president
Borio: Pluralism may not be answer to weakness in international system
Claudio Borio sees the “main problem” in the international monetary and financial system as the lack of an effective anchor, and is not sure greater pluralism addresses this
Cross-border banking contraction broadens – BIS statistics
Latest cross-border banking statistics show drop in cross-border claims spread in Q4 2015 from emerging markets to broader regions; China sees particularly large drops in lending
Poloz: CCA central banks ‘challenged’ in meeting their core objectives
New BIS Americas head believes financial stability should be built into regional policy decision-making even when not specifically stated as a core mandate; macro-pru "in sight" for many in region
Advanced economies could learn from EM counterparts in managing balance sheets, paper says
Composition of advanced economies' balance sheets is aligning in some respects to their EM counterparts, largely as a consequence of increasing size since the financial crisis, paper says
BIS’s Shin argues bank capital underpins both monetary policy and financial stability
Research sheds light on tension between bank shareholders and wider society, as high levels of capital support lending and therefore affect the real economy as well as the financial sector
Coen looks to wider issues affecting bank resilience
Secretary general of Basel Committee highlights importance of corporate governance and culture, IT systems and stress tests for resilience and profitability
People: Bank of Estonia reappoints deputies; Lagarde wants to reappoint IMF first deputy
Bank of Estonia hands new terms to Ülo Kaasik and Madis Müller; David Lipton in line for reappointment at IMF; Graeme Wheeler to head up BIS Asian Consultative Council; and more