Bank of Canada (BoC)
Bank of Canada’s C$460m refurbishment on time and on budget – Poloz
Construction workers have spent past three years gutting old head office and renewing interior to meet modern standards; annual report sheds light on costs
The winners of the 2017 Central Banking Awards
Bank of England wins Central Bank of the Year, while Carlos Fernández Valdovinos picks up Governor of the Year; Donald Kohn receives Lifetime Achievement Award; 15 more awards unveiled
Government regulation needed for digital currencies to remain secure – paper
Canadian paper draws historical comparison between banknotes and digital currencies, concluding regulation is needed to ensure safety
Risk management services provider of the year: OpenLink
OpenLink has continued the evolution of its Findur product with the development of collateral management functionality, notably supporting the Bank of Canada in its move towards collateral posting
Communications are Canada’s forte, latest set of awards show
Bank of Canada scoops Central Banking’s Transparency Award for 2017, while currency providers dominate the market practitioner categories
Transparency: Bank of Canada
Communications embedded in the policy process, fresh thinking on shared content and an expanded senior team show the central bank’s commitment to staying at the leading edge of transparency
Technology provider of the year (supervision): Vizor Software
Vizor Software has transitioned from a niche consultancy to a technology provider of choice for central banks in 30 countries, including Canada, the UK and Saudi Arabia
Canada’s Schembri highlights new inflation communication method
Bank of Canada has adopted three-pronged core inflation approach but now only publishes forecasts of headline inflation in its reports
Poloz considers the future of economic modelling
Theoretical and empirical two-pronged approach likely to stay, governor says, though economists are still on the hunt for the “holy grail” single model
People: uncertainty over Tetangco’s future; Minneapolis Fed appoints new COO and head of research
Future of Philippines governor unclear; Minneapolis Fed poaches Chicago Fed researcher and appoints COO
Bank of Canada re-modelling export links to US – Poloz
Previous approach may have over-estimated importance of US when modelling exports, governor says; uncertainties over US fiscal policy makes forecasting challenging
Terms-of-trade shocks affect house price fluctuations – paper
Bank of Canada research shows terms of trade shocks explain large percentage of variance in house price growth; most of the variation associated with changes in real import prices, authors say
People: vice-governor appointed at PBoC; Bank of Canada creates new comms role
China’s State Council appoints Harvard graduate to replace Guo Qingping; Jill Vardy becomes adviser to Stephen Poloz; and more
Sharper distinction in household vulnerabilities needed – Poloz
Latest financial stability review stresses importance of understanding difference in risk in housing sector; household indebtedness and housing market imbalances are key concerns
Central banks ‘critical’ in the development of blockchain
Large South African commercial bank examines what a central bank digital currency would look like, coining the phrase “sovereign blockchain”
Civil rights activist to appear on new Canadian $10 banknote
Viola Desmond will appear on new C$10 note, to be printed in 2018; Bank of Canada to repeat "bankNOTEable” campaign when seeking candidates for new C$5 note
Federal Reserve conducts in-depth study into distributed ledger technology
Central bank publishes first paper discussing the benefits of distributed ledger technology in the realm of payments, and clearing and settlement; use of DLT could address “financial frictions”
Bank Negara Malaysia’s new site draws on award-winning designs
Responsive new site launched after in-house team conducts benchmarking exercise on award-winning central bank sites; head of electronic communications explains the evolutionary process
Tallow controversy forces Innovia to look at alternatives
Innovia to seek alternative to tallow as traces of animal extracts in the Bank of England's new ‘fiver’ sparks global review; Canadian and Australian banknotes also contain traces in guardian substrate
Poloz urges economists to create new economic models
The rise of the service sector has changed the way productivity and output can be calculated, the Canadian governor says, musing on whether the relationship between inflation and growth could change over time
Bank of Canada paper explains decision to dilute ELA solvency requirement
Economists say emergency liquidity can play an important role in a resolution process, which led the Bank of Canada to amend its rules to allow for temporary insolvency
Financial globalisation only good within limits, says Canada’s Lane
Timothy Lane flags the dangers of an open capital account for some countries, saying monetary policy in some countries may be “overwhelmed”
Paper examines relationship between monetary policy and bank funding crises
Current regulatory tools are not sufficient to contain bank runs, Canadian working paper suggests, underscoring the importance of policy measures such as reserve requirements
Canada opts to retain 2% inflation target
Bank of Canada will continue with current target in new five-year deal with government, though other aspects of the policy framework are changing