International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Inclusion of renminbi in SDR is ‘symbolic’, says Bernanke
Former Fed chair sees inclusion of renminbi in SDR basket as a ‘symbolic’ gesture rather than a major shift; Eswar Prasad argues currency will never be a safe haven
Yemen’s president sacks governor and announces new central bank in Aden
Move may increase humanitarian crisis as former central bank head managed to prevent worst outcome in “dire” circumstances, expert says
IMF warns over problems in Belarusian banking system, but central bank disagrees
Systemic liquidity risks are “elevated” because of dollarisation, fund says; central bank claims country’s first asset quality review shows banking system is sound overall
IMF lauds renminbi SDR launch, but some see momentum stalling
Fund officials praise China’s proactive approach to meeting SDR goals, but others warn progress on renminbi internationalisation may be slowing
Reserve requirements complement monetary policy in small open economies – paper
Paper examines the use of indirect and direct monetary policy instruments in three Caribbean economies; increases in the reserve ratio are successful in reducing private sector credit
China has room to regulate local government financing – IMF paper
Government can and should rein in fiscal risks posed by public-private partnerships, authors say, as they outline “four pillar” regulatory framework
Zimbabwe to print $75 million in ‘bond notes’ in 2016
Reserve bank to issue US dollar-“equivalent” notes despite criticism from the general public; incentive facility to be backed by Afrimexbank
People: BoE appoints Brexit co-ordinator; Lagarde chooses Selassie to head Africa department
Phil Evans put in charge of work on UK’s exit from European Union at the Bank of England; Christine Lagarde appoints new Africa chief; and more
IMF official criticises interest rate caps in speech honouring Kenyan central bank
Interest rate ceilings can interfere with central bank independence and restrict credit access, IMF deputy managing director tells Kenyan officials
IMF's systemic risk findings called into question
Financial connectedness measure “not usually sharply aligned with systemic risk”, says Darrell Duffie
Ukrainian central bank cuts rates and promises further banking reform
Personnel director becomes acting deputy governor in charge of banking supervision; Lagarde praises conduct of monetary policy but says reform must continue
Azerbaijan central bank raises rates for fourth time this year as currency plummets
Falling oil and gas prices have major impact on Azerbaijan’s economy; IMF calls for major banking sector reforms
BoE’s Shafik to step down early
Deputy governor reveals she is to take up post as director of the London School of Economics in 2017, leaving the central bank more than two years before her term was due to end
Book notes: And the weak suffer what they must?, by Yanis Varoufakis
A book that is likely to elicit strong opinions – but Varoufakis writes persuasively, and may well win over many of his readers, says David Mayes
IMF’s Singh urges central banks to beware of collateral impact of policy
Senior economist says asset purchase programmes have drained quality collateral from the system, damaging the economy’s “financial plumbing”
More than AML fears driving correspondent banks away from Arab economies – report
AMF-IMF-World Bank survey of banks in Arab nations finds a broader de-risking to be behind pull-back of correspondent banking, though trend is uneven
Co-ordinated effort needed to raise growth – Lagarde
IMF chief says all policy levers must be used to halt low growth; G20 also promised reforms to provide “growth impulse”
Emerging evidence can guide design of macro-prudential policies, say BIS, IMF and FSB
International institutions present review of evidence on macro-prudential policies; no consensus but some patterns are emerging
Mozambique replaces governor Gove with IMF official
Ernesto Gove leaves central bank after a decade in the role; new governor to leave role as head of IMF mission to Djibouti and Somalia
IMF praises Argentina’s new statistical rigour
Fund pleased with progress made reforming statistics but there is still work to be done; IMF willing to provide “technical assistance”
Ukrainian central bank complains of failure to prosecute banking offences
Deputy governor criticises failure to bring “high-profile” court cases against suspected financial criminals; IMF has yet to announce whether it will disburse next tranche of aid
King calls for IMF revamp
Former BoE governor suggests replacing IMF’s executive board with International Monetary and Financial Committee; notes fund may have strayed too far into political territory
Book notes: Priests of prosperity: how central bankers transformed the postcommunist world
Juliet Johnson has produced an interesting account of how central banks in former communist regimes were developed at a time when they had little or no experience of modern financial systems
Frontier markets need framework to strengthen capital flow resilience – IMF paper
Frontier markets are affected by capital flows in similar ways to emerging markets, the paper argues, suggesting a change in the “landscape” of capital flows could have policy implications