International Monetary Fund (IMF)
IMF staff want better co-ordination between Kyrgyz government and central bank
Reforms are needed to strengthen the legal basis of the central bank and improve monetary policy traction in the country, staff say; better co-ordination is needed on government deposits
Lagarde reappointed as IMF managing director
Christine Lagarde is formally reappointed to lead the International Monetary Fund; early tasks facing her include Greek debt agreement
Strong action needed to tackle credit booms, research finds
Study of macro-prudential policy use in south-east Europe finds policies must be broad, powerful and carefully calibrated if they are to work
Bulgaria launches asset quality review and stress tests
Bulgaria’s central bank will conduct an asset quality review of commercial banks, followed by stress tests; the move is in response to the 2014 failure of the country’s fourth-largest bank
IMF paper questions ‘visceral opposition’ to inflow controls
Guilty by association: controls on capital inflows “inextricably” linked to those on outflows, paper says; controls not “worse” or “costlier” than other policy tools
Ukrainian central bank calls for parliament to pass consumer protection law
Ukraine’s central bank has called for the country’s parliament to pass two stalled laws aimed at protecting consumers of financial services as concerns grow over provision of foreign aid
Austria should ‘stand ready’ to tighten capital requirements, IMF staff say
The country has made ‘significant progress’ in restructuring the regulatory and supervisory framework, the report says, but the banking sector's resilience could be strengthened
Lagarde only candidate for IMF top job
Executive board says Lagarde the only person put forward during nomination period, which closed yesterday; selection process to be completed ‘as soon as possible’
NZ has ample space to respond to risks – IMF staff
An International Monetary Fund staff report says there is room to ease monetary policy further if need be, while authorities should prepare more prudential measures
IMF staff call for clarity on Morocco macro-prudential body
Staff report calls on government to clarify powers of inter-agency committee chaired by central bank governor; separate assessment details work on toolkit
IMF staff urge caution on Kyrgyz de-dollarisation plans
Central bank plans to support borrowers with foreign currency exposures, but IMF team warns this must be backed by other policies; action also needed on central bank independence, it says
Lagarde looking for ways to bolster global safety net
IMF head wants to address ‘fragmented and asymmetric’ safety net that has emerged since the 2008 financial crisis, noting the fund will consider the issue over the next few months
IMF staff tell Turkey to fix imbalances
Fund mission says central bank must tighten policy to head off growing external imbalances and inflation; low oil price keeping a lid on problems but longer-term solutions needed
Negative commodity price shocks weaken EM financial sectors, IMF paper argues
The financial sectors of resource-rich emerging economies are vulnerable to negative commodity price shocks, working paper argues; better policy can increase resilience
Ukrainian central bank faces ‘difficult balancing act’
Ukraine’s central bank has boosted its foreign exchange reserves but faces high inflation and unemployment, a ‘weaker-than-expected’ recovery and possible currency pressure
Kosovo’s ELA rules are ‘major improvement’, say IMF staff
Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo adopts regulation setting out the conditions for emergency fund provision; staff at IMF welcome the additional ‘detail and rigour’
Cyprus on track to complete programme by March, finance minister tells MEPs
Cyprus will continue with fiscal discipline and market-orientated reforms once adjustment programme ends, finance minister tells European parliament; rejects ‘tax haven’ claims
People: Tombini takes FSB committee chair; Al-Wazir moves to IMF
Alexandre Tombini is appointed to chair budget committee; former PMA governor joins IMF; Kazakh sovereign wealth fund replaces its chairman; and more
Kuroda and Davos panel see little alternative to divergence
Bank of Japan governor warns a synchronised exit from easy policy in the major economies ‘could be worse’ than the ’staggered arrangement’ at present
Reserve accumulation can be inflationary, ECB paper says
Working paper examines the allocation of special drawing rights in 2009 to separate out the inflationary effects stemming from an increase in the monetary base and moral hazard
IMF staff back Moldovan central bank response to crisis
Staff report supports many actions taken by the Moldovan central bank in dealing with the crisis caused by banking fraud; calls for bank to gain more powers and independence
Economists point to external woes as Central Bank of Brazil holds rates
Monetary policy committee leaves interest rate at 14.25% in surprise move; politics and fiscal policy making life harder for central bank, analysts suggest
Lagarde nominated for second term as IMF head
Christine Lagarde is backed by UK and Germany for a second term as managing director when her first expires in July; the International Monetary Fund launches the selection process
IMF paper seeks to capture complexity of financial development in new index
Research presents six ‘subindices’ measuring the depth, accessibility and efficiency of financial institutions and markets, which are rolled into an ‘overall measure of financial development’