Bank of England (BoE)
BoE revamps market intelligence approach
New approach to include greater transparency and a new executive committee to oversee market intelligence, following concerns flagged by Grabiner Report
Climate change on BoE research agenda
Bank of England says research could examine how central banking can ‘play a role’ in addressing systemic environmental risks; conference panellists consider issue
BoE panellists: Central banks need better understanding of policy interactions
Policy-makers are already having to cope in practice with a ‘tripartite’ mandate while research struggles to catch up, raising the possibility of dangerous blind spots
BoE unveils wide-ranging research agenda
‘One Bank’ research agenda seeks to shake up the status quo and help theory catch up with the practice of new central bank mandates and looming challenges
Haldane wants to turn economic methodology on its head
BoE chief economist turns away from deductive methods and towards mining big data in search of correlations, but former ECB research director warns him to temper his enthusiasm
Forbes asks if BoE’s ‘Midas touch’ has been tarnished
MPC member says low interest rates carry various risks, including falling productivity and rising inequality, but argues the evidence is mixed and such factors are outside the BoE’s mandate
UK regulators flesh out proposed punishments for bankers
Consultation papers set out details of how presumption of responsibility will work in practice, including narrowed scope, and seek to extend greater protections to whistleblowers
BoE research finds high-frequency trading makes prices more efficient
High-frequency trading, although correlated, appears to be based on information and therefore helps markets form prices efficiently, working paper finds
Bank structure affects macro-prudential spillovers, BoE research finds
Working paper finds macro-prudential policies spill across borders more readily to bank branches than subsidiaries, although the change depends on type of lending and type of policy
BoE’s MPC members diverge on interest rate outlook
Only common ground between committee members is rates likely to rise ‘over the next three years’, as some see the potential for further easing while others want rate hike soon, minutes show
Haldane says ‘cocktail’ of psychology and sociology behind divergent growth
BoE chief economist draws on history, sociology and psychology – as well as economics – in seeking to explain why growth rates differ so widely
Poll: Should inflation targets be scrapped?
As advanced economies battle low inflation and interest rates remain constrained by the ZLB, should central banks rethink monetary policy orthodoxy?
Will new reforms lift the veil of secrecy at the Bank of England?
The Bank of England has unveiled a broad package of reforms to its transparency. Daniel Hinge speaks with transparency experts to assess the changes
Are central banks the ‘Figaro’ of the financial markets?
Central banks continue to play a vital position in the functioning of markets. While this raises significant concerns about moral hazard it is not an unfamiliar role from an historical perspective
BoE paper identifies issues in measuring ‘too big to fail’
Research assesses different approaches to measuring the scale of the ‘too big to fail’ problem, and finds none is without issues, but different approaches still identify effects
BoE could ease with deflation looming
Record low inflation may turn negative in the spring, inflation report shows; Mark Carney says rate cuts and QE remain options but BoE still expects next move to be a rate hike
BoE’s Furse warns liquidity has become ‘more fragile’ in some markets
Post-crisis measures have increased bank resilience, but have also ‘altered the economic model’ for capital markets intermediation
BoE’s Kohn and Taylor foresee FPC divisions
Financial policy committee is likely to rely more heavily on voting in future, Donald Kohn and Martin Taylor tell MPs; Andrew Tyrie attacks accountability and calls for review
Carney calls on eurozone members to share fiscal burden
Bank of England governor takes stand on contentious debate, arguing ‘timidity' of European leaders who ‘do not currently foresee fiscal union as part of monetary union' is costly
BoE’s Hauser says markets review will avoid heavy-handed regulation
Andrew Hauser says UK’s Fair and Effective Markets Review will seek to achieve its aims through market discipline if possible, instead of imposing burdensome regulation
BoE appoints two executive directors
Alex Brazier and Sam Woods take responsibility for financial stability and insurance, respectively; Brazier fills role left vacant by departure of Spencer Dale
Leading central bankers unsure about impact of technology on monetary policy
Carney, Kuroda and Coeure debate the elusive Phillips curve in Davos; rejecting ‘technological pessimism', Carney says ‘just catching up is a huge opportunity of growth potential'
BoE's Forbes says few MPC members are 'perennial hawks or doves'
External member lays out key risks to Bank of England's central forecast, including stronger US growth, lower oil prices, and exchange rate pass-through
BoE’s Gracie expects cyber attacks to breach defences
Building an ‘impermeable perimeter’ is unrealistic; institutions would be wise to focus instead on quick identification and response to threats, says executive director for resolution