Europe
BdF deputy governor softens digital euro regulatory stance
Beau says central bank money is safer, more liquid and less volatile than stablecoins
Rate uncertainty means firms hire and invest less – BdF study
European companies hoard cash and reduce dividend payments when monetary stance is unclear
ECB study highlights firms’ exposure to property downturn
Analysis examines risks to various classes of investor from exposure to commercial real estate
Smaller banknote denominations have shorter lifespan
High income central banks produce longer-lasting cash
Middle income central banks see largest volume of counterfeit notes
Foil remains least used security feature for banknote production
Exact inflation at 2% not ‘realistic, nor necessary’ – BdF governor
Villeroy de Galhau says central banks should advocate for structural policies
Majority of central banks have emergency cash inventory
But few respondents say they have alternative strategies in place
Half of central banks recycle banknotes as sustainability measure
Most currency operations lack climate strategy, but a few plan to launch one
Savings dampen monetary policy effectiveness – Fed paper
Central banks should track excess saving at a high frequency, authors recommend
Minority of central banks keep whole cash cycle in-house
Banknote printing remains central banks’ most outsourced function
ECB reviewing QE but 2% target ‘not up for debate’ – de Guindos
Completing banking union should be the “number one priority” for EU economic policy, says official
‘No compelling case’ for a Eurosystem dot-plot – Nagel
Bundesbank president says uncertainty needs to be communicated more clearly
Currency staff make up 8% of central bank workforce
Institutions with own printworks have larger currency departments
Governors weigh macroeconomic risks at G30 event
Officials from Netherlands, South Africa, BIS and more consider debt, inflation and climate change
Raised tactile features are most common banknote visual aid
Assistive mobile application offered by just two central banks
Suspended Bulgarian deputy claims he is fighting for central bank ‘independence’
Eurozone candidate country’s deputy breaks silence on suspension, and his fight to get reinstated
Polymer substrates used on one-fifth of banknotes
Data reveals widening adoption in upper-middle income jurisdictions
Book notes: Carbon colonialism: how rich countries export climate breakdown, by Laurie Parsons
Compulsory reading to gain insights into many climate issues that receive insufficient ‘airtime’
ECB could go below r* when setting policy, says Panetta
Bank of Italy governor says eurozone has to return to “normal way of doing monetary policy”
Differences in eurozone states ‘support disinflation narrative’
BdF deputy governor confident inflation will keep falling based on wage developments
Average volume of defective banknotes remains above 100m units
Central banks retrieved over $1 billion of mutilated banknotes on average
Rehn reiterates need for inquiry into demographics, inflation
Europeans need to ready themselves for trade fragmentation, says Bank of Finland governor
Cash payments average over 30% of transactions in 2023
No pressures on number of printed banknotes, central banks say
Eurozone needs to take more risk, says Bank of Portugal governor
Centeno says lack of investment is handicapping growth