United Kingdom
UK statisticians turn to online prices to cope with Covid-19 lockdown
Around 80% of prices are usually collected in person, forcing rethink of data gathering approach
BoE eases funding terms as government launches ‘bounce back’ loans
Loans will be excluded from leverage ratio calculations
Debts, deficits, central banks and inflation
Forrest Capie and Geoffrey Wood ask what insights history can provide for central banks and governments managing abrupt, large increases in debt
People: Sandra Boss quits BoE roles to join BlackRock
Prudential committee member to join asset manager; Coeuré to head committee on Covid-19; State Bank of Vietnam appoints new director-general
BoE paper argues for heterogeneous agent modelling
Authors use heterogeneous agent model to study fiscal policy and redistribution
BoE’s Proudman recommends data-gathering rethink
“Pull” model would be “revolutionary” but might come at too great a cost, official says
FedNow: the road to non-bank access to US instant payments
Debate over granting non-banks access to Fed systems reveals possible flaws in US regulation
BoE moves to renewable energy
Bank of England says it has already beaten its 2016 target for carbon dioxide reduction
Statisticians grapple with inflation impact of Covid-19
Collecting reliable inflation figures during lockdown is not straightforward
Crises enliven ‘totalitarian temptations’
The coronavirus pandemic will embolden governments and bodies such as the International Monetary Fund to grasp for more power, writes Steve Hanke
Bank of England to lend directly to government
Central bank agrees temporary expansion of “Ways and Means” facility
People: Sarb and BoE renew senior appointments
Senior Sarb and BoE officials receive new terms; MAS picks new assistant managing director; ECB appoints director; William Dudley takes consulting job
BoE poll signals convertibility is key to CBDC demand
CBDC does not need to be built on DLT network, BoE says
UK banks halt dividend payments after BoE piles on pressure
PRA asks largest lenders to suspend payments until the end of the year
BoE on hold as early indicators point to rapid UK downturn
Policy on hold after extraordinary actions in recent weeks; network of agents reports credit conditions are tightening
Contactless payment limit to rise in the UK
National roll-out of new limit will begin in April, but will take time, says industry body
UK lenders do little to account for extreme weather risks – BoE paper
Banks barely adjusted mortgages in the wake of severe flooding in 2013–14, authors find
Major economies already engaging in ‘currency wars’ – former IMF chief
De Larosière floats new commodity-based exchange rate regime; says “trust” is key to avoiding “beggar-thy-neighbour” policies
Fed expands lending facility to support municipal bond market
Political pressure mounting to support local governments; senator proposes bill to broaden QE powers
Dollar crunch eases as central banks step up swaps action
Core swap recipients will offer daily dollar auctions; cross-currency basis narrows
BoE axes 2020 stress test and gives supervisory guidance
IFRS 9 a challenge for firms given high uncertainty over virus impact
BoE ramps up corporate and government bond-buying
Central bank launches new £200 billion package of QE plus rate cut and more liquidity
Bailey says BoE ‘will do what it takes’
BoE governor echoes Draghi after sterling plunges despite creation of new lending facility
Book notes: Renewing our monetary vows, by Richard Barwell and Jagjit Chadha
Open letters to the governor of the Bank of England, as new chief Andrew Bailey takes over