Banque de France (BdF)
French central bank reveals details of blockchain experiment
Banque de France teams up with a fintech start-up to run distributed ledger tech through Sepa; the results of project expected to be presented at a conference in 2017
French governor sees outlines of possible Basel III deal
Internal models will still regulate some portfolios, governor predicts; output floors still a matter for “debate”
French paper presents macro-prudential early warning system
Authors advocate aggregating results of larger number of models
Eurozone reform projects are not delivering, French governor says
“Investment crunch” is biggest problem, not savings glut, Villeroy de Galhau says
Low rates and Solvency II raise ‘profound challenges’ for insurers – French governor
The move to unit-linked products is “not the only answer” to the need for diversification, de Galhau says; policy-makers must monitor the impact of the transition to Solvency II
Post-crisis banking regulations increase large firms’ funding advantage – paper
Banque de France working paper presents a large-scale DGSE model with large and small firms to analyse the impact of new banking regulations
Money market interactions can explain behaviour of interest rate spreads, researchers argue
Paper analyses the interplay of unsecured and collateralised money markets; information obtained “can explain behaviour of interest rate spreads”, authors say
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”
Weidmann: GDP-linked bonds an ‘avenue worth exploring’
Eurozone countries should explore merits of GDP-linked bonds, Bundesbank president argues; says move could help revision of sovereign risk weightings and cites Bank of England work
Eurobonds could be double-edged sword, researchers say
Banque de France researchers propose a new model of banks’ holdings of own-country sovereign debt; high holdings deter moral hazard but may exacerbate crises, they say
FinCoNet offers regulators chance to advance financial consumer protection – chairman
The association of national financial consumer protection agencies has made progress in supporting reform, but has considerable work ahead, chairman Sheridan says
French governor calls for ‘gradualism’ in fintech regulation
François Villeroy de Galhau sees merits in “proportionate adaptation” of regulations for fintech companies; other contributors to latest FSR argue in favour of same rules for same risks
Paper explores monetary policy and bank liability structure
Banque de France working paper analyses US banking data from 1994 to 2008; provides new empirical support for bank lending channel of monetary policy, author argues
Lower real interest rates may harm productivity growth, researchers say
Lower real interest rates may reduce productivity growth rates, researchers say; Italy and Spain have suffered low or negative TFP growth during existence of euro
Villeroy de Galhau calls for eurozone finance minister
Banque de France governor calls for single eurozone finance minister to co-ordinate fiscal and structural policy; warns of dangers of “overburdening monetary policy”
Inflation expectations well-anchored, Richmond Fed president says
Lacker tells audience at Banque de France he believes expectations are anchored, despite drop in inflation compensation; Villeroy de Galhau notes drop in market-based measures in eurozone
Eurozone sovereign debt crisis has increased financial fragmentation, paper argues
Eurozone corporate bonds have different risk premia according to which country a company is headquartered in, paper argues; fragmentation has ‘dampened effectiveness’ of ECB policy
German and French central bank heads back creation of eurozone Treasury
Weidmann and Villeroy de Galhau issue joint call for more integrated eurozone, potentially including joint treasury; alternative would mean different approach to sovereign risk
Banque de France governor wants public reforms
France must cut its public debt and reform its labour market, says Francois Villeroy de Galhau; the governor also calls for new investment products
French governor weighs up ‘disruptive effects’ in card payments market
François Villeroy de Galhau discusses ‘main trends’ influencing card payments market, including ‘new solutions, new behaviours and players, new regulations’
Villeroy de Galhau and Fischer express caution over inflation target change
There could be costs to changing inflation targets in response to persistent low inflation, say François Villeroy de Galhau, Christian Noyer and Stanley Fischer
Financial market risk being pushed into ETFs, Noyer warns
Central bankers must develop oversight of ETFs and similar securities, Noyer tells farewell seminar; must also convince markets and public of opposition to low inflation and deflation
French and German central banks cut inflation projections for next two years
Falling energy prices main factor in downward revision of German and French central banks’ projected inflation rates for 2016 and 2017
Shift to single currency increased volatility of money growth, paper argues
The shift to European monetary union had a major impact on the volatility of money growth rates in the eurozone, a working paper from the Banque de France argues