Foreign exchange
Book notes: In the combat zone of finance, by Svein Harald Øygard
A fascinating and readable book for those charged with maintaining financial stability and interested in a new perspective on institutional efficiency
Dominican Republic governor opposes ‘inadmissible’ pension proposal
Allowing workers to withdraw savings could create long-term crisis, Héctor Valdez Albizu warns
Zimbabwean central bank cuts rates and attempts currency controls
RBZ loosens policy as IMF predicts massive contraction in GDP for already-weakened country
Lebanese PM asks for IMF aid as dispute with central bank grows
Governor at centre of massive economic crisis appears to condemn PM’s words as “slander”
Colombia reduces rates as economy faces sharp recession
Central bank reduces rate by 50 basis points to 3.25%, GDP expected to fall by 10% in Q2
Libra’s Disparte on big tech’s move into digital currency
Libra Association vice-chair Dante Disparte speaks about the decision to abandon a multi-currency reserve, stress-testing a global payment network and how the Facebook-backed body still has 3 billion customers in its sights
Swiss central bank reports record quarterly losses
SNB loses $39.1 billion as falls in equities wipe out gains on Swiss franc positions and gold holdings
Lebanese central bank tries to stem currency crisis
Central bank unfreezes dollar accounts at sharply reduced rate as future of banking sector is unclear
Bank of Mexico rejects president’s request for early funds transfer
Central bank issues rare statement saying it must respect legal procedure for transferring funds
IMF approves $1.4 billion transfer for Pakistan
Aid should be used to finance budget and bolster foreign reserves, IMF executive board says
Transfer season
Trade frictions with the US have caused a mass industrial transfer to China’s neighbours. Zhou Chengjun, IFF Academic Committee member and inspector of the Macro‑prudential Policy Bureau of the People’s Bank of China, says that shouldn’t stop China…
Indonesia gains ‘second line of defence’ from $60 billion Fed repo
Bank Indonesia secures repo with NY Fed to boost dollar liquidity and shore up rupiah
Israeli reserves fall sharply on dollar liquidity provision
Central bank’s portfolio decreases by $5.1 billion in March
Is there a dollar funding squeeze in China?
China could benefit from joining the Fed’s dollar swaps network but political obstacles bar the way
Debelle: regulation could be ‘helpful’ to FX code
As EU weighs regulation of spot market, GFXC chair dismisses key industry argument
Fed expands network of swaps to emerging markets
Emerging markets will now have direct access to a dollar backstop, but it is still limited
Norges Bank sharply increases foreign exchange sales
Central bank converts oil revenues into krone to finance government’s coronavirus response
Banks rush to tap new dollar liquidity facilities
IIF warns of major capital flight from emerging markets as demand for Fed-backed repos surges
Nigerian central bank announces emergency measures
CBN will fund healthcare expansion and guarantee loans, and says currency will not be devalued
Central banks and banks: a changed relationship
The development of large, complex international capital markets has reshaped the relationship between central banks and their commercial counterparts
Fed ramps up Covid-19 response
Central bank in “firefighting mode”, undoing repo tapering and offering regulatory relief to banks
Asia-Pacific central banks act to cushion coronavirus shock
RBA and Bank Negara Malaysia cut rates; Bank Indonesia steps in to support markets
Why Bulgaria needs to deepen its currency board
The BNB’s currency board rules should be extended to transaction deposits at commercial banks, which could in turn issue digital currencies, even in the event of euro adoption
Bank of Ghana hails tech upgrade in forex market
Rollout of Refinitiv system should cut fragmentation and boost transparency, says governor