Europe
EU central bankers to pick stability board head
The head of the European Central Bank (ECB) will no longer automatically become the head of the proposed European Systemic Risk Board following objections from the United Kingdom, and several central and eastern European countries.
Iceland shows need for pan-EU supervisory approach
The Icelandic experience in the current crisis shows that the European Union's (EU) arrangements for cross-border banking supervision and deposit insurance need urgent strengthening, a new paper from Robert Wade, a professor of political economy at the…
Europe's banking fragility needs urgent attention
Europe's banks are so fragile that measures must be implemented within the next 12 months, a paper by Adam Posen and Nicolas Veron, two economists at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, posits.
Trade spillovers hit Baltics most
Trade channels dominate the transmission of cross-border spillovers to the Baltic States, a new paper from the International Monetary Fund reveals.
Efficient payment systems boost intermediation
Efficient payment systems increase financial intermediation and the availability of credit, new research from the Bank of England posits.
Europe's ACHs bemoan Sepa's slow start
Europe's leading automated clearing houses (ACHs), which process and route payments, hit out at the lack of progress on the Single Euro Payments Area (Sepa) on Wednesday and called for an end date for national standards to hasten its implementation.
Labour models with best fit
Labour models with wage stickiness and right-to-manage bargaining or with firm-specific labour deliver the best fit, a new paper from the European Central Bank posits.
EU to implement De Larosiere group's proposal
The European Commission has proposed a raft of ambitious reforms to the region's supervisory framework, building on guidelines set out in the recent De Larosiere report.
Basel Committee's Wellink wants burden shared
Nout Wellink, the president of the Netherlands Bank and the chairman of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, has said that he is in favour of proposals for supranational supervision in Europe but warned that the issue of burden-sharing was crucial.
BIS stats highlight extent of capital flight
Data posted from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) on Wednesday provided fresh evidence for the doom-mongers on central and eastern Europe, and went some way to explaining recent movements in exchange rates.
De Grauwe labels Maastricht rules political tools
The Maastricht criteria for euro adoption are political instruments, not economically-vital measures, a respected economist has said.
Data on home-host banking activity inadequate
Data on international banking activity remain largely inadequate for surveillance and policymaking purposes, new research from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) posits.
ECB's Papademos calls for macroprudential schema
The establishment of a framework for macroprudential supervision is urgently needed, said Lucas Papademos, the vice president of the European Central Bank.
European banks to drop interchange fees by 2012
The European Commission and the European Central Bank (ECB) have told European banks to get rid of interchange fees on direct debit transactions by 31 October 2012 under EU antitrust rules.
Inflation in new EU10 driven by common factors
A major part of inflation in the ten new European Union (EU) member countries is driven by common factors, a new paper from the International Monetary Funds reveals.
Nordic crunch's key lesson: avoid party politics
The Nordic credit crisis in the 1990s revealed that a united stance by politicians is crucial in averting a financial meltdown, the head of the Bank of Finland's research department has said.
CEE regulators condemn stability "misperceptions"
Six central and eastern European regulators on Wednesday jointly attacked the recent coverage of their economies, labelling it misleading, oversimplified and potentially harmful.
Media inaccurate in portrayal of CEE's plight
Miroslav Singer, a vice governor at the Czech National Bank, tells CentralBankNews.com why the media's recent treatment of the problems in central and eastern Europe bears scant resemblance to the reality in some countries in the region.
Development banks pledge €24.5bn to east Europe
The World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the European Investment Bank on Friday agreed to lend up to €24.5 billion ($31 billion) to support banks in central and eastern Europe hit by the crisis.
EU group: extend regulation, burst bubbles
The much-awaited de Larosiere report on financial regulation in the European Union (EU) has urged central bankers to burst asset-price bubbles with monetary policy and monitor all systemically-important financial institutions.
Fears for zloty outweigh calls for cuts
The National Bank of Poland opted for a smaller-than-expected cut on Wednesday in a bid to maintain the value of the zloty. The move reflects the mounting concern among central and eastern European countries that marked currency depreciations could…
Eastern Europe counters currency attacks
Four eastern European central banks have made a coordinated effort to bolster their currencies, saying recent sharp depreciations fail to reflect economic fundamentals.
EU backs pledge to fill IMF coffers to $500bn
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) needs to bolster its lending capacity to $500 billion, leaders of Europe's biggest economies have said. The move comes amid concern that the Fund will be unable to avert the collapse of some central and eastern…
Of currencies, crises and completions
The crisis presents an opportunity to complete Europe’s journey towards a true monetary union, argues John Nugée