International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Lower outside demand and structural bottlenecks explain EM slowdown, IMF paper finds
Slowdown a ‘remarkable feature for a non-crisis period' in emerging economies that was largely unanticipated by scholars and forecasters, paper notes
State-owned banks played counter-cyclical role in EMs following financial crisis
Credit growth by foreign banks lagged behind that of domestic banks in Asia, Latin America and ‘emerging Europe', IMF working paper finds
Mobile money accounts trump number of adults in Kenya, IMF data show
African bank depositors increased five-fold between 2004 and 2013, IMF's fifth annual Financial Access Survey shows; includes data on mobile money for first time
IMF paper: Colombia needs to lower collateral constraints to boost growth
Measures to increase financial inclusion in Colombia should be ‘monitored closely’, since some of them ‘may imply trade-offs’; collateral constraints viewed as impediment to growth
FSB estimates of Chinese shadow banking fall short of target, IMF representatives suggest
FSB's ‘filtering out' of parts of the non-bank financial system in China paints incomplete picture, IMF Asia division chief and HK representative say
Perceptions of monetary policy determine long-term bond yields, IMF paper finds
Rise in yields following Federal Reserve ‘taper talk' in 2013 is due to monetary policy shock; communications should place less focus on explaining adjustment triggers
Robert Pringle’s Viewpoint: A qualified case for Scottish independence
If the Scots vote for independence they will run many risks including a perilous path to create a Scottish currency; but they have the human resources to make a go of it
IMF paper says long-term debt creates ‘incentive to default’
Research examines relationship between maturity structure of sovereign debt portfolios and the probability of default; considers impact of uncertainty around future fundamentals
Debt accumulation in advanced countries historically absorbed by increases in short-term foreign debt
IMF paper examines how composition of public debt answered to consolidation periods between 1900-2011; common pattern was broken during 1980s and 1990s
IMF deems Czech exchange rate floor appropriate ‘for now’
Latest staff report commends CNB’s decision to intervene in foreign exchange market; supports the floor but says it should be removed ‘as soon as conditions allow’
IMF calls on Nordics to keep housing markets in check
Article IV reports warn Norges Bank will eventually have to normalise policy rate above inflation target and call for Swedish macro-pru measures targeted at households
HKMA executive director joins IMF's monetary and capital markets department
Dong He, HKMA head of research, new second-in-command at IMF division in charge of monitoring central banks and preparing Fund's Global financial stability report
Dealing with ‘insidious' crises a ‘difficult proposition' for policy-makers, argues IMF paper
Conventional balance-sheet crises, however, are more effectively detected and contained than before the financial crisis, paper adds
IMF researchers say CCBs ‘show less promise’ than other macro-prudential tools
Working paper finds counter-cyclical capital buffers are less effective than measures aimed at banks’ assets and liabilities in reducing the rate of asset growth on their balance sheets
IMF hosts Middle East forum on Basel III compliance
Middle Eastern countries work together to ensure adequacy of local lenders' capital and liquidity; new report credits region's ‘strict capital quality rules'
Unconventional monetary policy has heightened medium-term risks to banks, IMF paper finds
No evidence that unconventional monetary policies has ‘helped' banks, according to paper; finds deterioration of medium-term bank credit risk in US, UK, and the eurozone
End of Bretton Woods has helped dollar reserves, says ECB paper
The collapse of the Bretton Woods System has resulted in significant upheaval of currency reserve trends, says an ECB working paper co-authored by Barry Eichengreen
IMF paper finds Latam growth likely to slow even if commodity prices remain elevated
Growth over next half-decade expected to be 150bp lower than during boom years; need for 'ambitious structural reforms' to secure 'medium-term growth'
Global imbalances still on the rise, IMF paper shows
Though efforts have been made to cut current account imbalances since the financial crisis, ‘stock imbalances' continue to grow, find Milesi-Ferretti and Lane
IMF paper finds ‘robust' relationship between exchange rate flexibility and external adjustment
Using a data set of bilateral exchange rate regimes, study revives Milton Friedman's argument that a flexible rate facilitates external adjustment
Ghana requests IMF bailout to bridge fiscal deficit
IMF deputy director will send a team to Accra early next month to initiate discussions; Ghanaian cedi is world's worst performer so far this year
IMF paper finds ‘puzzling' result from capital controls
Controls to stop capital inflows deflect them to other countries, the paper finds, but are rarely met with copycat measures in recipient countries
Choosing a suitable exchange rate suitable for price-takers
Flexible exchange rates can act as an asset price as well as a price for goods and services, so movements can distort the market for goods and services. Taxing capital inflows can address the matter
Can central bankers live up to their role as the guardians of finance?
Central bankers need to be the risk managers of the financial system to help mitigate the fallout from future crises. Those that engaged in the latest bouts of QE have not made a good start