Europe
Securities lending services provider of the year: Northern Trust
Official institutions praise the Chicago-based firm’s excellent coverage, operational smoothness and good returns
Sovereign bond-backed securities could improve eurozone stability – ESRB
Regulations would need to change and treatment of sovereign bonds would be vital, argues Central Bank of Ireland Governor
Consumption closely tied to house prices in Netherlands – research
Strong correlation attributed to structural features of mortgage market
Website of the year: Bank of Lithuania
Bank of Lithuania has built a website around the principle of making the most relevant information as accessible as possible for all of its audience
Transparency: Central Bank of Ireland
The Irish central bank has made great progress in communicating in a candid and open manner with the people it serves
Spain’s de Guindos moves closer to ECB vice-presidency
Spain enjoys good relations with Germany, and lacks a top position in the EU
Draghi strongly criticises US statements on dollar
ECB president calls for US to keep “implicit agreement” on avoiding competitive devaluations
Delayed restructuring prompts strike action at Central Bank of Cyprus
Cypriot central bank staff strike over lack of communication from senior management on restructuring plans; former governor fears independence is under threat
Income convergence in reverse among original euro members, research says
Fall in income disparities halted soon after 2002 and started to increase after financial crisis
Anti-money laundering technologies can bring new risks – European supervisors
Regulators need to ensure firms understand new technologies, ESAs say
Do not ban cryptocurrencies – DNB
Central bank says a ban would be difficult to enforce and could impede innovation
Nouy warns eurozone banks to prepare for NPL framework changes
Possible changes to ECB and Commission rules make balance sheet clean-up “crucial”
Deposit guarantee schemes vary widely in calculating risk, EBA says
European directive gives countries’ deposit guarantee schemes “considerable flexibility”
Consultancy and advisory provider of the year (data and regulatory management): BearingPoint
BearingPoint’s expertise in data and reporting has informed a number of high-level bodies over the past year, including the Basel Committee and the IMF, following groundbreaking work in Austria
Banknote and currency manager of the year: Norges Bank
The Nordic central bank has redefined how its banknotes are designed, incorporating top-notch security and an innovative awareness campaign
ECB’s corporate bond-buying had positive effect in Spain, research says
Stimulus reduced yields for non-financial firms and increased credit to smaller companies
EU ombudsman asks Draghi to relinquish G30 seat
Prolonging the president’s membership threatens independence and public’s trust in the ECB, O’Reilly declares
Short-selling bans increased instability – ESRB paper
Banks’ volatility, leverage and default probability increased by bans on short-selling – researchers
German coalition talks open possibility of reformed ESM
European Commission proposed creating a new institution to lead crisis programmes in December
People: Banque de France deputies named
Sylvie Goulard and Denis Beau take positions at Banque de France; second deputy governor at Bank of Ghana vacates post; Bolivian central bank’s board gets new vice-chair; and more
Eurozone bondholders should stay ‘on the hook’ – Dombret
Bonds issued by bailed-out governments should have maturity extended, argues Andreas Dombret
Auditors find ‘flaws’ in ECB’s crisis management framework
ECB must improve co-ordination with SRB and national supervisors – report
BoE’s Woods warns of ‘point of tension’ in Brexit negotiations
PRA chief fears EU supervisors may adopt a local mindset when dealing with cross-border firms
Bundesbank to begin investing in renminbi
Executive board member says the bank is considering investing in other foreign currencies