Reserves
Reserve managers to ‘reconnect’ with their central bank, says Bill Allen
Former BoE official says central bankers will become ‘more conscious’ of the relationship between reserve management activities and financial stability issues in Central Banking On Air debate
Borio: current account is a ‘badly inadequate' measure of financial risk
BIS director says still not enough attention is paid to capital account but adds build-up of vulnerabilities also requires looking directly at balance sheets of cross-border institutions
Open economy helps Chile brush aside Fed taper, says CBC's Vial
Sound macro-economic principles, an independent central bank and fiscal discipline rules help Chile to ride effects of Fed taper; China slowdown is a bigger risk
Vatican central bank set up to fight financial irregularities
The ‘outlier' bank's most important task will be to manage foreign reserves, but will need radical changes if it is to clean up the Vatican's finances as the Pope wants
Canadian dollar holdings could be twice Cofer estimates – Bank of Canada
Study suggests IMF may have underestimated Canadian dollar's rise as reserve currency; growing global demand for government bonds has liquidity implications at home
People: BoK appoints new reserves chief; Fed staffer returns to head up Riksbank research
Chae Sun-Byoung new head of reserve management at Bank of Korea; Jesper Lindé returns to head up Riksbank's research department; Linette Field put in charge of SSM deputy directorate
State Bank of Pakistan has 'critically low' reserves
IMF says Pakistan’s reserves position will remain critical even with ‘stellar’ programme adherence; urges changes to central bank law to boost independence
SNB board member speaks on ‘very limited' ethical investment programme
A desire not to move markets informs the SNB's decision not to provide details on its new ethical investment strategy, which will affect a 'very limited' number of companies
SNB expands equity holdings in ethical investment drive
Switzerland’s central bank increases its equity holdings by $18 billion to $77 billion in 2013; refuses to invest in companies that cause 'severe environmental damage'
BoE could act as lender-of-last-resort for Scottish banks
Bank of England's Mark Carney refers to European Union's discretionary approach during euro crisis; suggests independent Scotland would need to increase foreign reserves
Swiss upper house rejects initiative that would force SNB to double gold holdings
Proposal that would require central bank to hold at least 20% of total assets in gold is slated for referendum but political establishment is strongly opposed
Central Bank of Oman's Hamood Sangour Al Zadjali on the dollar, financial stability and Islamic finance
The Central Bank of Oman remains committed to the dollar as it moves to improve governance, liquidity management and Islamic finance in the sultanate, its executive president tells Chris Jeffery
Reserve manager of the year: Central Bank of Colombia
The Central Bank of Colombia’s dynamic reserves management strategy and impressive performance amidst turmoil in the US dollar and emerging market currencies made it stand out from the crowd
Bolivian central bank under fire for lending to public enterprises
IMF tells CentralBanking.com the unorthodox practice is ‘counterproductive' and out of step with international norms; bank's constitutional mandate and lending arrangement makes loans legal
Central Bank of Aruba 2012 annual report highlights drop in inflation
Average annual inflation in the Caribbean territory dropped from 4.4% in 2011 to 0.6% last year; says international reserves 'remained adequate'
RBA's Stevens says exchange rate disconnected from fundamentals
RBA governor Glenn Stevens says Australia's current exchange rate is not supported by the country's relative levels of costs and productivity
Bank of Lithuania prepares for move into equities
Central bank announces plan to invest in riskier assets after returns on its foreign reserves drop close to zero; follows gradually increasing trend among central banks
BIS banking department deputy makes switch to State Street OIG
Founder of State Street's Official Institutions Group John Nugée will retire in October, and be replaced by Louis de Montpellier of the BIS
IMF figures show advanced economies loading up on Australian dollars
Stock of foreign exchange reserves continues upward trajectory, with Australian currency finding favour in advanced economies, and the Canadian dollar in vogue in emerging nations
Turkish central bank steps in to calm forex markets
Capital outflows have prompted Turkey's central bank to purchase local currency in a bid to smooth ‘market volatility'; move seen as signalling a failure of the bank's 'Reserve Option Mechanism'
ECB taken to task over SME finance in Central Banking debate
Participants in latest Central Banking On Air debate accuse central banks of 'unreasonably neglecting' SME funding difficulties; question whether the type of assets central banks hold is important
IMF paper scrutinises ‘procyclicality’ in reserve management
Over half of central bank reserve managers surveyed by IMF say they would alter practices to reduce procyclicality; paper questions reliance on credit rating agencies
Italians back using gold reserves to lower funding costs
A survey commissioned by the World Gold Council finds that Italians would support the creation of gold-backed bonds; sovereign bond yields fall further as new government is formed
Central bankers back equity investment for reserves
Almost two-thirds of respondents to CentralBanking.com poll believe central banks should invest some of their reserves in equities; most say investment should be kept below 10% of portfolio