Australia
RBA opens new ‘highly secure’ banknote vault
Australian central bank makes first investment in banknote storage and distribution in over a decade; Lowe says public have come to “rely” on “secure and high-quality” banknotes
New forex code will not be a set of rules – Debelle
New code of conduct will force participants to think about their actions, Debelle says; rules are easier to “arbitrage” than principles
RBA’s Ellis examines the central banking community’s gender problem
RBA makes changes to processing candidate applications to remove unconscious bias, Ellis says; central bank recognises women face challenges when entering economics
RBA’s Bullock says central banks are ready to ‘take action’
Old school of thought regarding asset bubbles abandoned following financial crisis; macro-prudential tools are helping policymakers “clean up”
External review of the RBA to begin next month – Lowe
Governor tells MPs the central bank wants to identify opportunities for improvement; assessment will look into operation and administration, not policy framework
RBA’s Ellis: cross-country and micro-factors matter for housing
The assistant governor sees country-specific and micro-factors as important to understanding the diversity of outcomes in the housing market
RBA to ‘pay close attention’ to housing market in 2017 – Lowe
Rent growth remains weak but vacancy rates are not high, RBA governor says; households and banks are currently taking the right approach to the environment
Forex code working group liaising with regulators – Debelle
Many regulators are interested in understanding how the code could be used to monitor market activity, working group chairman says; both FCA and Asic are in talks
Tallow controversy forces Innovia to look at alternatives
Innovia to seek alternative to tallow as traces of animal extracts in the Bank of England's new ‘fiver’ sparks global review; Canadian and Australian banknotes also contain traces in guardian substrate
RBA paper asks why companies fail
Researchers find specific features of Australian companies make them more likely to fail
People: RBA names two new assistant governors; Barbadian deputy governor retires
Luci Ellis and Lindsay Boulton appointed assistant governors at the Reserve Bank of Australia amid reshuffle; Harold Codrington departs Barbadian central bank after 37 years of service; and more
Australasia has avoided stagnation trend – RBNZ’s Bascand
Different household behaviour in Australia and New Zealand appears to have contributed to higher growth and investment
Lowe stresses the importance of financial buffers
“Skimping” on buffers is not worth the risk, says RBA governor, stressing stronger ones promote stability and prosperity
Global forex code is ‘on track’, says Debelle
Work on the code has been a “constructive and co-operative effort” by central banks and market participants, says RBA deputy; “on track” for launch in May 2017
Central clearing boosts welfare but margin matters – RBA paper
Study shows how central counterparties boost welfare by insuring against counterparty credit risk, but gains are sensitive to the level of margin
RBA seeks to gain ‘additional’ insight into wages – Lowe
Central bank teams up with statistical agency to gain insight into declining wage patterns; frequency of wage increases is decreasing, says RBA governor
Australia’s real-time payment system to go live in 2017 – Lowe
Test payments already being settled on new real-time payments platform, says RBA governor; fast settlement service set to undergo industry testing this month
RBA’s Heath highlights changing nature of Australian workforce
Automation, ageing population and decline of industry are reshaping the labour market’s demand for skills, head of economic analysis says, with lessons for central bank recruiting
RBA’s Kent considers life after the mining boom
Australian economy is well into an adjustment, following the country’s mining investment boom; RBA correctly identified the patterns of adjustment, but was surprised by the magnitude
Stevens highlights housing market improvement at final monetary policy meeting
Reserve Bank of Australia leaves rates on hold at Steven’s last monetary policy meeting; board assesses the current policy stance as appropriate to foster growth and achieve inflation target
People: Debelle becomes RBA deputy governor
Foreign exchange expert becomes deputy governor of RBA; Mongolia appoints deputy governor
RBA launches first banknote with edge-to-edge window
Twelve-year project cost the bank $37 million; new series to feature pioneering security elements and is the first to trial tactile features for the visually impaired
Australia’s Future Fund doubles its money
Sovereign wealth fund is now twice the size of its initial endowment, driven in part by alternative investments and private equity; warns future returns likely to be lower
‘More market pressure’ on institutions to compete on safety, says RBNZ’s Fiennes
There is no government guarantee, says Fiennes; boards and managers are responsible for managing risks