Latin America
Time for Central Bank of Argentina independence
Monetary financing has fallen sharply under Mauricio Macri’s administration, but must now end; independence law would help efforts to shatter Argentina’s inflationary shackles
Latin American central banks should improve communication strategies – IMF
Blog post suggests longer, more detailed, policy communication is not always better
Belize must act to escape cycle of defaults – IMF staff
The country has completed a third debt restructuring in a decade, but IMF research says fiscal consolidation is needed to put debt on a “clear downward trajectory”
Brazil’s central bank launches fintech laboratory
Central bank partners with big tech firms to help modernise how financial services are delivered
IMF recommends improved central bank communication in Latin America
Clearer policies and increased transparency could help to deal with future shocks
Argentina’s central bank makes further emergency rate hike as currency falls
Bank makes second emergency rate hike in less than 24 hours
Bank of Mexico to be more transparent on monetary policy
Central bank will publish meeting transcript with a three-year lag, as part of a policy to make its communication more transparent
No funds taken in cyber breach, Bank of Mexico says
Central bank reveals three participants of interbank payment network experienced “incidents” within internal systems; banks asked to implement “additional controls”
Venezuelan public invited to invest in national crypto asset
President Maduro announces public will be able to invest in ‘petro’ as well as gold; $1 billion from the proceeds of first petro auction to go to the central bank
Argentina’s governor reflects on reserve management rebuild
After liberalising the exchange rate in 2016, the country adopted new asset-allocation strategies
Lower inflation in LatAm threatened by debt, says World Bank’s Vegh
Public debt for Latin American region tops 50% of GDP
Central bank data shows Venezuela is in ‘stealth default’
Debt repayments have rapidly decreased since October 2017, data shows; reports suggest Goldman Sachs has been paid
IMF urges Costa Rica to shore up financial stability defences
Fund calls for increased transparency from financial stability committee and action to tackle dollarisation risk
People: Brazil central bank set for female deputy
Carolina de Assis Barros set to become deputy governor after reshuffle; ECB’s Euribor expert prepares for EMMI move; and more
Latin American markets were hit by 2010 US ‘flash crash’, DNB paper finds
Fall was driven by equities markets’ interdependence, not contagion, researcher argues
Venezuela pays off $2.1 million debt to Chile
Struggling Latin American country honours debt repayments under Reciprocal Payments and Credit Agreement, after missing payment in 2017
Venezuela’s new forex auction sees bolivar plummet
Latest auction sees currency devaluate by 99% from heavily subsidised exchange rate
Colombia signals end to easing cycle
Despite stronger than expected inflation, board cuts interest rates by 25bp to 4.5%; US policy normalisation and elections could put pressure on the peso in 2018
Economics in central banking: Alberto Cavallo and Roberto Rigobon – Billion Prices Project/PriceStats
Through a vast and ongoing data-collecting exercise, PriceStats has helped central banks overcome many of the drawbacks inherent in traditional inflation series
People: PBoC deputy appointed vice-mayor of Beijing
First woman nominated as deputy governor at the Bank of Mexico; Kganyago bags IMF job; Sarb gets new MPC member
People: Banque de France deputies named
Sylvie Goulard and Denis Beau take positions at Banque de France; second deputy governor at Bank of Ghana vacates post; Bolivian central bank’s board gets new vice-chair; and more
Argentina cuts rates, but keeps focus on inflation
Analysts express concerns over the decision, as inflation remains high
Central Bank of Brazil survey shows poor savings habits
More than half of respondents had no spare earnings over past year to put aside, which could put them at risk if “unforeseen expenses” arise
Colombian paper says resolution co-operation is needed in the region
Authors examine how resolution plans have evolved and conclude more work can be done with regard to local systemically important financial institutions and cross-border activities