Financial inclusion
Income inequality should be a concern for central banks – IMF panel
IMF panel debates impact of unconventional monetary policy on income inequality, concluding institutions should be more aware of policy effects on income disparities despite no specific mandate
Bank Negara Malaysia invites public to submit ‘fintech hacks'
Malaysia’s central bank extends research into fintech through public project; hopes regulatory sandbox will produce “game-changing results”
RBI research: demonetisation hit growth but helped inclusion
Authors find scrapping high-value notes impacted Indian growth and inflation but pushed many people to open bank accounts and improved policy transmission
New Barbados governor casts critical eye over public sector
Efficiency of services offered by the public sector needs improvement, says Haynes; current issues are a “great cost” to productivity
Central bank governor of the year: Carlos Fernández Valdovinos
The governor of the Central Bank of Paraguay has had considerable success hitting Paraguay’s tightening inflation target while boosting the nation’s economic credentials
Staff incentive schemes lead to bad deals for consumers – paper
Colombian paper examines the effect of bank incentive schemes on consumers; transparency index reveals staff often do not disclose information about the price of financial products
Draghi examines financial integration through a digital lens
Digitalisation will help with financial integration, but beware of the risks, says Draghi; fintech is high on the ECB’s strategic agenda
Weidmann urges central banks to promote economic and financial literacy
Financial literacy is crucial in underpinning trust in central banks, German governor stresses; advancements in technology will help to boost financial inclusion
ECB paper compares financial inclusion in US and eurozone
Encouraging transfer payment recipients to open accounts has positive effect, study finds
Central Bank of Brazil sets out agenda for 2017
Improved governance and financial inclusion at the top of the list for the central bank; aims have been published on an innovative interactive webpage
Paper uses Swedish refugee data to assess financial literacy
Authors say the randomly determined placement of refugees in Sweden provides a handy natural experiment on how financial literacy can spread
Cambodia to increase number of financially educated, says director general
Around 29% of Cambodia’s adult population remain financially excluded from services; central bank to coordinate financial inclusion approach with various government ministries
Tajik central bank launches consumer protection push
Plan could create stability and growth if it is successful, but resource constraints are a challenge, National Bank of Tajikistan says
Philippine president plans to amend law to hand Tetangco third term
Duterte plans to ask Amando Tetangco to stay for third term; finance minister confirms government intends to amend law specifying a two-term limit
Global crises raise need for digital financial inclusion – BIS’s Caruana
Refugee crisis, climate change, banking challenges and cyber crime all point to the need for better inclusion through the use of technology, says BIS chief
Japanese survey throws light on financial education problem
First large-scale study of financial literacy shows many people have poor understanding, contributing to higher loss aversion, herding behaviour and other problems
Central Bank of Solomon Islands commits to promoting private sector credit growth
Levels of liquidity “more than adequate”, latest monetary policy review says; central bank to maintain levels of liquidity by continuing to issue bills
Central Bank of Barbados launches biannual economic magazine
Barbados launches financial magazine after “ironing out” issues; central bank’s latest venture “demystifies” economics for the general public
Malawi launches newsletter on financial inclusion and consumer protection
Latest financial inclusion initiative to inform members of the public about new developments in the market as well as improve financial literacy; newsletter forms part of larger national initiative
Nepal employing varied approaches to financial inclusion – governor
Bank has developed a number of models to make financial services affordable; other initiatives have included interest-free loans to those in rural areas
Financial inclusion in Rwanda rising, central bank report says
ATMs and mobile money has helped reduce the number of those financially excluded, governor says; banking sector starting to benefit but high proportion of NPLs in some sectors is a concern
Philippines leads improvement in Brookings financial inclusion rankings
The Central Bank of the Philippines says rapid progress last year reflects the success of its financial inclusion strategy; Brookings report highlights the importance of a wide-ranging approach
Solomon Islands’ Rarawa praises ‘innovative’ financial inclusion plans
Financing initiative for coconut industry promises to extend “digital banking penetration” in the Pacific nation, governor says
Governments must make use of fiscal policies with regard to gender inequality – IMF paper
‘Not enough’ to just aspire for gender equality; clear scope for countries in Middle East and central Asia to make ‘more effective’ use of policies available to them