Reserves
SNB made investment ‘innovations’ in 2015, report says
Central bank made first investments in new assets and began to wield voting rights to influence corporate governance in 2015, annual report shows
Equities support Danish central bank's profits in 2015
Move into riskier assets contributes to profits in 2015, in addition to significant returns from defending the krone; costs are also on the rise following major IT project
Renminbi to be identified in IMF Cofer database
IMF countries able to record renminbi holdings from October; inclusion in database recognises "continuing internationalisation" of currency, staff say
Sarb’s Lesetja Kganyago on divergent monetary policies and new supervision
The governor of the South African Reserve Bank talks to Christopher Jeffery about navigating divergent monetary policies, South Africa’s new supervisory regime and nurturing new talent
Eurosystem reveals rules on national asset holdings
ECB publishes an agreement governing the size of ‘non-monetary policy holdings’ at national central banks in the eurozone; aggregate net financial assets totalled €490 billion at end-2015
Bundesbank over halfway towards gold repatriation goal
Deutsche Bundesbank repatriated 210 tonnes of gold in 2015, it says; 41% of gold reserves now housed in Frankfurt
Sarb deputy sees opportunity for reserve managers in Fed hike
Daniel Mminele encourages reserve managers to focus on the ‘investment horizon’ to take advantage of higher yields in the wake of Fed action
Trinidad governor implies $500m injection failed to solve US dollar shortfall
Trinidad and Tobago’s Jwala Rambarran says domestic economy faces ongoing shortfalls of US dollars despite $14 billion in official sector forex assets; calls for diversification in the economy
BIS paper uncovers new evidence on FX reserve and capital flow link
Paper argues role of domestic investors is key to properly understanding how foreign exchange reserves can dampen volatile capital movements
IMF reveals Cofer submitters but scraps advanced-emerging breakdown
Fund reveals 96 economies submitting their reserves breakdown to the Cofer database, in the name of transparency – but axes breakdown of advanced/emerging economies for fear of revealing too much
Philippines reserves up by $100m in second quarter
Drop in net foreign lending prompts balance of payments surplus to surge by 145% year-on-year; FDI increases by $424 million, slightly lower than Q2 2014
Argentine reserves spared as US court overturns ruling
Central bank will not have to pay creditors out of its reserves, US appeals court rules, although the decision is not meant to allow Argentina to ‘continue shirking’ its debts
The Fed’s impact on emerging market sovereign wealth investors
With central bank reserves seeing their biggest drop in more than a decade during the second quarter of 2015, Arvid Ahlund asks if tighter US policy will make matters better or worse
End of sanctions could be double-edged sword for Iranian banks
Iran central bank vice-governor warns domestic banks have work to do before they are opened up to international competition, but Iranian investors see end of sanctions as broadly positive
Bank of Central African States floats novel way of pooling reserves
IMF urges member states in Central African Economic and Monetary Community to comply with requirement to pool FX reserves and earnings; BEAC proposes new method for achieving this
IMF leaves door open to renminbi inclusion in SDR basket
Report says renminbi is lagging behind the four currencies in the current basket, but decision is still wide open; IMF also considering extending existing arrangement by nine months
Global FX volumes climb off record highs
Foreign exchange turnover slips from the record highs registered in October 2014, but is still growing year-on-year
Some emerging markets still dangerously exposed to dollar debt, IMF warns
Spillovers report underscores the importance of net/gross distinction, as improvement in net debt position provides fig leaf to some countries that may be overexposed to US dollar appreciation
PBoC opens interbank bond market to foreign central banks
Move is among the most significant towards RMB liberalisation since QFII, says StanChart's head of central banks; quotas are scrapped and central banks can register for licence through third parties
Nigerian reserves head believes renminbi can ‘complement’ euro and dollar
Lamido Yuguda discusses the benefits of a multipolar system and how the Central Bank of Nigeria is managing its renminbi investments in a new book
Global FX reserves down, dollar allocations up
Valuation effects push US dollar portion of allocated reserves higher while euro slips
China overlooks own foreign investment cap
Hong Kong firm granted $1.2bn QFII quota, above the $1bn cap set in 2009, as world's second-biggest economy takes symbolic step towards opening up capital account
Bascand says RBNZ more alert to risks
Deputy governor says new risk management framework has improved central bank’s ability to deal with risk; discusses reserves management policy and ‘open relationship’ with government
Danish annual report highlights move into equities
National Bank of Denmark implemented new investment strategy in 2014, adding riskier assets including equities and lower-rated government bonds to reserves