Central Banking
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
A vaccine for the global economy
Olivier Blanchard, Peter Praet and Daniel Alpert discuss shorter- and longer-term actions to tackle the flaws exposed by the Covid-19 crisis
Bank of Mexico cuts rates 50bp in emergency meeting
Analysts expect further cuts as the economy is expected to enter a sharp recession
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
Riksbank to buy covered bonds; Iceland enters secondary market
Central banks unveil new forms of unconventional purchases
Fed commits to unlimited bond purchases in massive new programme
FOMC announces radical new measures and calls on other policy-makers to act aggressively
RBNZ launches $30bn government bond-buying programme
MPC asked to vote on package via email to ensure social distancing
US regulators offer more guidance on loan restructurings
Any modified loans remain eligible collateral for discount window, Fed says
China will suffer recession, say Bank of Finland experts
Economic policy response has been fragmented and banks may not respond to PBoC incentives – research
New York Fed to offer $1 trillion per day in repo funding
Move sends message the Fed stands ready to meet any increase in funding demands over coming period
Fed expands lending facility to support municipal bond market
Political pressure mounting to support local governments; senator proposes bill to broaden QE powers
Major bank hid money-laundering evidence – Swedish regulator
Swedish FSA fines Swedbank record $386m over failures as Estonian prosecutors continue AML probe
ECB temporarily relaxes NPL regulation
Central bank estimates lower capital requirements will release €120 billion for lending
Dollar crunch eases as central banks step up swaps action
Core swap recipients will offer daily dollar auctions; cross-currency basis narrows
US banks increase discount window borrowing
Federal Reserve “encouraged by the notable increase” in use of the backstop facility
Will cash survive Covid-19?
Fears are emerging that banknotes may carry the coronavirus. Are they justified?
Norges Bank slashes rates to record low of 0.25%
Central bank says workers are being laid off, as Norway faces double shock from virus and oil
BoE axes 2020 stress test and gives supervisory guidance
IFRS 9 a challenge for firms given high uncertainty over virus impact
Fed starts financing money market funds
US Congress overrules Dodd-Frank clause at Treasury request as Fed brings in sweeping measure
BoE ramps up corporate and government bond-buying
Central bank launches new £200 billion package of QE plus rate cut and more liquidity
IMF appoints US Treasury official as first managing director
Geoffrey Okamoto will assume role previously held by David Lipton
RBA introduces yield curve control
Lowe says measure would not have been considered under “normal times”
ECB’s negative rates boosted lending – Bank of Italy paper
Banks increased credit to ex ante riskier firms, but did not see rise in failed loan rates, researchers find
Fed expands network of swaps to emerging markets
Emerging markets will now have direct access to a dollar backstop, but it is still limited