Norway
Norway SWF manager doubles leadership team
Norges Bank Investment Management sets up separate ‘leader group' for real estate investments; wealth fund returns 3.3% ($31 billion) in second quarter
Norway governor sees greater role for central bank in new 'Nibor' framework
Øystein Olsen sees greater powers for Norges Bank over the interbank rate framework, which has 'obvious weaknesses' and should be overhauled 'as soon as possible'
Ethical investment may not mean higher returns, says Norway fund chief economist
Ethical investment is ‘consistent with earning good returns' and suits a long-term strategy, but there is no evidence linking higher returns with avoiding unethical sectors
Norwegian SWF plans $27bn expansion into real estate
New focus on real estate investments part of Norway's sovereign wealth fund strategy through 2016, which will see it hire 230 more staff and employ more external managers
Norges Bank says rates could stay low for longer
Norway's central bank held rates steady today and now projects it to stay lower for longer; banks may be required to build up bigger counter-cyclical buffers
Norges Bank poised to complete shift from FX buyer to seller before year's end
The Norwegian central bank sends strong signal it will make no foreign exchange purchases this year; analysts predict bank will make ‘symbolic shift' to net-seller in Q4
Monetary policy shock hits Norway house prices hard
Meanwhile, impact on household credit is muted, according to Norges Bank working paper; adds findings are consistent with small quarterly refinancing rate of mortgage stock
Norway SWF axes JP Morgan as global custodian
Citi has secured custody responsibility for Norway's Government Pension Fund Global's $850 billion global equities portfolio
Fixed income drives Q1 returns for Norway SWF
Norway's huge sovereign wealth fund earned a 1.7% return in the first quarter of this year, with all asset classes solid if unspectacular
Norges Bank governor says clear 'reaction pattern' lessens attention on forward guidance
Øystein Olsen tells Columbia University audience the better central banks become at communicating their reaction pattern, the less attention their forward guidance will receive
Norway hands SWF ethical investment responsibilities to central bank
Finance ministry disbands external ethical investment committee, putting responsibility for decisions with Norges Bank Investment Management
Norwegian governor backs SWF rotation into higher-yielding equities and real estate
Øystein Olsen says it is ‘natural' for the country's pension fund to invest in different types of real assets; talks up the possibility of an above-average market return
‘Normal' Norway has no need of forward guidance, says monetary policy chief
Head of Norges Bank's monetary policy division says interest rate forecasts are all the forward guidance his country needs, as the crisis did not hit Norway to the same extent
Four more countries have ‘systemically important' financial sectors, says IMF
New methodology qualifying countries for IMF's financial sector assessment programme means Denmark, Norway, Poland and Finland will now undergo regular check-ups
Norges Bank issues ‘secret' advice on prudential regulation
Norwegian finance ministry will publish central bank recommendations on countercyclical buffers only once it has decided whether or not to follow the advice; bank holds interest rates at 1.5%
Design of Norwegian banknotes charts new waters
Norges Bank reveals upcoming banknote series will share a maritime theme, reflecting the country's 83,000km coastline; notes will not feature human portraiture
Norges Bank deputy discusses institutional underpinnings of central bank activities
Jan Qvigstad highlights the importance of institutions in facilitating payments in an era when money lacks intrinsic value; chides Argentinian government for meddling with statistics
Norges Bank should make ethical investment decisions for SWF, say government advisers
Report sets out ways for pension fund to boost influence over responsible investments, aiming to increase long-run returns; recommends concentrating decision-making power at Norges Bank
Norges Bank handed advisory role on macro-prudential policy
Norwegian central bank will advise the ministry of finance on whether it should impose a countercyclical capital buffer and, if so, what size it should be
Scandinavians open macro-pru toolbox to cool overheated housing markets
Rising property prices, increasing household debt and towering banking sectors are pushing Norway, Sweden, and Denmark to consider unconventional measures to pre-empt a crash
Norwegian paper explores financial stability trade-off
Working paper identifies trade-off between increasing rates to mitigate financial imbalances and lowering rates to reduce the risk of bank insolvency
Norges Bank deputy backs Bayesian econometrics in policy-making
Jan Qvigstad highlights how Bayesian econometrics have been used to develop two of the central bank’s ’most important’ forecasting tools
Norwegian SWF far too exposed to OECD nations, report finds
NCA/Re-Define report calls for 20% of Norway's GPF foreign assets to be allocated to development finance, as Peterson Institute again gives fund top marks for transparency and accountability
Norges Bank economists examine motivations behind bank regulation
Staff memo sets out reasons why banking is ‘inherently unstable’ activity; says safety nets can create the need for further regulation