Capital
Basel Committee highlights best practice for early intervention
Supervisors have become more forward looking and adopted new tools since 2008 in a bid to catch trouble early
Dudley outlines tougher incentives to make bankers behave
New York Fed chief says compensation could be linked to banks’ loss absorbency
Fed profits shrink as interest expenses bite
The Fed’s profits in 2017 were more than $10 billion smaller than a year earlier, as the effects of interest rate hikes begin to show
Book notes: Respectable banking, by Anthony Hotson
The author’s sensible goal of “respectable banking” is admirable, but the recommendations would not all help to achieve this
Basel Committee adds ‘amber zone’ in market risk revamp
“Amber zone” will protect near-miss desks, but regulators not convinced by complaints on non-modellable risk factors
Bank of Ghana places troubled UniBank under administration
Central bank says it has made several attempts to save the mid-sized lender since 2016, but claims lack of co-operation from management and false information led to failure
Macro-prudential measures should be made to last – RBNZ’s Spencer
Outgoing governor wants temporary framework for loan-to-value ratios to stay; says debt-to-income instrument should also be part of toolkit
Italian paper looks at eurozone firms' capital costs
Fall in borrowing costs in periphery due to balance sheet improvements, researchers find
RBNZ deputy governor calls for move to ‘dual reporting’
“Sometimes unclear” how banks reach their risk weightings, Bascand says
Norwegian sovereign wealth fund says 2017 saw third-highest annual returns
NBIM says returns from holdings in oil and gas companies lag those of other sectors
Remembering Charles Freeland
Charles Freeland, former deputy secretary-general of the Basel Committee and friend of Central Banking, died in 2017
Authorities need to deal with ‘limitations’ of global standards
The BIS’s Fernando Restoy says global standards do not cover all possible risks, and national supervisors need to fill in the gaps
RBI under pressure from alleged banking fraud scandal
Alleged fraudulent transactions uncovered at Punjab National Bank undermine the firm’s capital position; RBI launches investigation into “increasing incidence of frauds”
ECB orders Latvia to shutter bank over laundering allegations
US Treasury alleges the bank laundered billions of dollars and had links to North Korea
NY Fed paper measures global capital flow pressures
The authors’ method allows them to estimate how sensitive countries are to changes in global risk aversion, as well as overcoming problems with capital flow data
BoE’s Cunliffe sees liquidity risk in rise of investment funds
Investors have poured money into less liquid instruments at a time when market liquidity has been falling, warns the BoE deputy governor
A dangerous unknown: interest rate risk in the financial system
Urgent action is needed to tackle the little-understood build-up of interest rate risk in the global financial system; macro-pru tools still inadequate to tackle the issue
Saudis deposit $3 billion to build up Yemeni central bank
Saudis are also training central bank staff, and say US and UK are supporting capacity-building
CCP stress tests have found capital shortfalls – Esma
Small increases to stress-test scenarios would have left ICE Clear Europe “in material breach”
State Bank of Vietnam seeks to rein in credit growth
Target of 17% credit growth this year to contain risks
Focus on implementing Basel III, central bankers say
Stefan Ingves stresses need for full and timely implementation, while Andreas Dombret says the time for lobbying is over
Better data needed amid rise of non-banks – BIS study
Survey of post-crisis banking structure finds sturdier core banking system, but risks shifting to periphery, raising the need for better surveillance
Revised Basel output floor could hit US banks after all
Fall in operational risk weights could push up capital requirements for market and credit risk
Quarles signals plans for US regulatory revamp
Fed vice-chair outlines some initial plans for a readjustment to post-crisis regulations