Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)
External review of the RBA to begin next month – Lowe
Governor tells MPs the central bank wants to identify opportunities for improvement; assessment will look into operation and administration, not policy framework
Uncertainty about momentum in the labour market – RBA minutes
“Mixed” picture in Australian labour market shows unemployment increasing alongside full-time employment; spare capacity likely to persist “for some time”
New Australian $10 to feature works of native authors
RBA launches second banknote in new series, celebrating native authors; new note will feature similar security elements to new A$5 launched last year
RBA’s Ellis: cross-country and micro-factors matter for housing
The assistant governor sees country-specific and micro-factors as important to understanding the diversity of outcomes in the housing market
RBA to ‘pay close attention’ to housing market in 2017 – Lowe
Rent growth remains weak but vacancy rates are not high, RBA governor says; households and banks are currently taking the right approach to the environment
People: Central banks of Spain and Afghanistan appoint new deputy governors
Career central banker Javier Alonso promoted to deputy in Spain, Bank of Afghanistan names new first deputy governor, and more
People: Slovenia gets new deputy; ECB appoints new member to financial stability council
Slovenian parliament appoints new deputy to central bank; ECB chooses Finnish deputy governor to sit on financial stability council
RBA paper asks why companies fail
Researchers find specific features of Australian companies make them more likely to fail
People: RBA names two new assistant governors; Barbadian deputy governor retires
Luci Ellis and Lindsay Boulton appointed assistant governors at the Reserve Bank of Australia amid reshuffle; Harold Codrington departs Barbadian central bank after 37 years of service; and more
Lowe stresses the importance of financial buffers
“Skimping” on buffers is not worth the risk, says RBA governor, stressing stronger ones promote stability and prosperity
RBA paper finds it is hard to pinpoint US productivity slowdowns
Break in productivity growth trend in US appears to have happened in early 1970s, although beliefs took three decades to fully adjust, authors find
Central clearing boosts welfare but margin matters – RBA paper
Study shows how central counterparties boost welfare by insuring against counterparty credit risk, but gains are sensitive to the level of margin
RBA seeks to gain ‘additional’ insight into wages – Lowe
Central bank teams up with statistical agency to gain insight into declining wage patterns; frequency of wage increases is decreasing, says RBA governor
Australia’s real-time payment system to go live in 2017 – Lowe
Test payments already being settled on new real-time payments platform, says RBA governor; fast settlement service set to undergo industry testing this month
People: RBNZ appoints new board chair; reshuffle of senior management at Australian central bank
Reserve Bank of New Zealand replaces board of directors’ chair after 10 years at bank; assistant governors swap roles at the RBA as the bank looks to hire new talent; and more
RBA’s Lowe: we are not ‘inflation nutters’
Philip Lowe underscores central bank’s “balanced” approach to controlling inflation in his first public appearance as RBA governor, and highlights other initiatives
RBA’s Heath highlights changing nature of Australian workforce
Automation, ageing population and decline of industry are reshaping the labour market’s demand for skills, head of economic analysis says, with lessons for central bank recruiting
RBA’s Kent considers life after the mining boom
Australian economy is well into an adjustment, following the country’s mining investment boom; RBA correctly identified the patterns of adjustment, but was surprised by the magnitude
RBA’s Lowe: credit not enough to measure financial cycle
Deputy governor says the financial cycle’s “considerable intuitive appeal” needs to be backed up with better research on measuring cycles, with balance sheets likely to play a key role
Stevens highlights housing market improvement at final monetary policy meeting
Reserve Bank of Australia leaves rates on hold at Steven’s last monetary policy meeting; board assesses the current policy stance as appropriate to foster growth and achieve inflation target
People: Debelle becomes RBA deputy governor
Foreign exchange expert becomes deputy governor of RBA; Mongolia appoints deputy governor
RBA launches first banknote with edge-to-edge window
Twelve-year project cost the bank $37 million; new series to feature pioneering security elements and is the first to trial tactile features for the visually impaired
‘More market pressure’ on institutions to compete on safety, says RBNZ’s Fiennes
There is no government guarantee, says Fiennes; boards and managers are responsible for managing risks
Second half of global FX code to be circulated in October – Debelle
“Significant progress” has been made drafting the second phase, says RBA assistant governor; market participants will be able to comment on draft proposals and provide feedback