Central Banking
BIS paper: banks may harm customers through ‘steering’
Nudging “naive” households to take decisions can harm their welfare, authors find
BoE paper: simple communication can backfire
Success of communication is not measured by number of people reached, paper states
Bernanke offers ideas for Fed’s policy framework review
Unconventional policies are “preferable” to raising inflation target and can still be enhanced, Bernanke argues
Patterns of exchange rate pass-through are changing – RBI paper
Pass-through in emerging markets is non-linear, asymmetric and falling, authors find
Crises are non-linear, beware high debt levels – research
IMF paper warns against complacency on high debt levels
Rates have been falling for eight centuries – BoE research
Study casts doubt on major theories, including secular stagnation; author warns rates could “soon enter permanently negative territory”
RBI launches app to help visually impaired
App can be used by people with visual impairment to identify banknotes
Central bank research may be too focused on narrow topics – paper
Network analysis finds many central banks are limited in the scope of their research
Chile’s central bank publishes historical meeting minutes
Historical minutes have been digitised in a move to improve transparency and accountability
Pension funds suffer in latest round of Eiopa stress-testing
Only 30% of funds have policies in place to mitigate ESG risk; low interest rates continue to pose a problem for funds across Europe
West Africa launches new currency in break with France
New ‘eco’ currency will still be pegged to the euro, but France will have less involvement in the affairs of the West African Economic and Monetary Union
Central Bank of Iceland completes merger with regulator
Governor Ásgeir Jónsson to retain overall responsibility; two new deputy positions created
ECB paper offers tiering solution to CBDC structural concerns
Separating CBDC functions between tiers could disincentivise use during crisis periods, but disintermediation of the banking sector still a risk, author warns
Risk weight tweak could fix IFRS 9 capital clash – research
Practitioner suggests way to cancel out double-counting of Basel credit loss provisions
Machine learning can produce better credit scores – BIS paper
Fintech firms may be better at predicting default rates, researchers find
Fed avoids year-end cash crunch
Repo market shows barely a ripple over New Year’s Eve after Fed injects a quarter of a trillion dollars
Hong Kong supervisory framework needs further strengthening – IMF
Growth outlook has deteriorated but banking sector well positioned, says fund
Eurochain: CBDC project seeks secure anonymity
Proof of concept blends anonymity with AML/CFT regulation
Monetary easing can boost birth rate, BoE paper finds
People had more children after rates were slashed post-crisis, researchers find
Bahamas rolls out first phase of CBDC pilot
Pilot will be rolled out to rest of country after June 2020, says governor Rolle, contingent on success of Exuma and Abaco case studies
Markets surge as PBoC cuts RRR
Cut designed to support the flagging economy; PBoC insists it is retaining “sound” policy
2020: fintech and beyond
At the turn of the decade, central bankers share their thoughts on financial technology – past, present and future
Macroeconomics is not broken
The discipline has moved beyond the neoclassical synthesis. Critics should too
Are we sleepwalking into a cashless society?
Cash could be crowded out of the payment landscape if current trends continue, but should central banks be responsible for ensuring its survival?