Banks
Kenya sees a reduction in use of bank services
Mobile payments preferred, with 47.8% of the population using mobile services on a daily basis; banks now mainly used for salary payments
Book notes: Stabilising capitalism: a greater role for central banks, by Pierluigi Ciocca
Pierluigi Ciocca offers an excellent, brief and crisp account of the main issues facing central banks today
End of sanctions offers chance to fix Iran’s banking sector
Iranian banks struggling with high levels of non-performing loans may see their situation improve, but deep reforms are needed and the political situation remains complex
Book notes: Between debt and the devil, by Adair Turner
Adair Turner offers a lively and well-structured account of his proposals to radically overhaul the financial sector
EBA publishes guidelines for co-operation agreements between deposit guarantee schemes
European Banking Authority lays out guidelines for agreements between EU deposit guarantee schemes; clear principles should lessen conflict and make mediation easier, authority says
BoE’s Furse sees benefits to UK as a global finance hub
External FPC member sees plenty of reasons why policy-makers in the UK should seek to make the economy attractive to global financial firms; says robust institutions are important
BIS paper models self-generating financial crises
Authors set out DSGE model where financial crises can be triggered either by an external shock or the endogenous generation of credit booms and busts
BoE and Vickers clash on capital rules
Both central bank and ring-fencing committee chair claim to have recommended higher capital requirements than the other – but a look at the proposals suggests the differences are slim
Austria should ‘stand ready’ to tighten capital requirements, IMF staff say
The country has made ‘significant progress’ in restructuring the regulatory and supervisory framework, the report says, but the banking sector's resilience could be strengthened
BoE sketches proposals for sharia-compliant facilities
Options for deposit facilities include wakalah or commodity murabahah, with the possibility of liquidity insurance to follow
Rajan tells banks to prepare for ‘deep surgery’
RBI governor says banks will have until March 2017 to clean up their balance sheets; banking sector represents weak spot of otherwise vibrant economy
No room for mediocrity, Kenya governor warns banks
Patrick Njoroge tells bankers there is ‘only the thinnest of margins’ for error; each customer should be treated as if they were ‘the only customer in the world’
Danish economists test measure of systemic risk
National Bank of Denmark paper uses ‘SRISK’ measure to assess systemic risk in the Danish financial sector, finding it was a good predictor of banks that needed bailing out
RBI report lays ground for trading new derivatives
Working group proposes allowing new interest rate options in India to improve financial institutions' ability to hedge interest rate risk
RBI’s Gandhi: are regulators ‘barking up the right trees’?
Deputy governor stresses effective regulation is not about ever more detailed rules but rather taking a broad view and spotting emerging risks early on
Weaker shareholder liability need not mean more risk-taking, Riksbank paper finds
Study of abolition of double liability in Canada finds bank riskiness did not increase; authors suggest weaker incentives for shareholders were offset by closer scrutiny by depositors
BoE reveals final element of ring-fencing framework
Systemic risk buffer will apply to ring-fenced assets, with the aim of preventing banks amplifying stress; BoE also hopes it will give smaller banks a competitive boost
BoE’s Bailey sets sights on balance sheet clarity
Clear disclosure of creditor hierarchies will be ‘critical’ moving forward, says Andrew Bailey; clarity in bank balance sheets is a ‘good thing’
Policy interactions may drive global banking contraction, BoE economists find
The combination of unconventional monetary policy and regulation may cause ‘substantial’ spillovers as banks cut cross-border lending, economists including Kristin Forbes find
BIS stats show further retreat in global banking flows
Falling claims on China drive bulk of overall reduction in cross-border claims, but pace of decline slows compared with previous quarter
FCA officials grilled on second comms backlash
MPs accuse FCA of failing to recognise perceived importance of dropped bank culture review, leading to strong public backlash; chief executive says approach to communication will be reassessed
Basel Committee completes trading book review
Much-anticipated redesign of market risk framework seeks to capture risks the Basel accord failed to guard against in 2008; impact study implies median 27% increase in capital charges
BoE moves to close bonus clawback loophole
Under new proposals, banks will no longer be able to circumvent malus and clawback rules by buying out new employees’ bonuses
New bank business models could undermine stability, panellists warn
Panel including Mark Carney and Agustín Carstens raises concerns over the way regulation and low rates are forcing banks to adapt in unpredictable ways
