Financial Stability Board says standards being met

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) today published a report on the progress of its initiative to encourage the adherence of all countries and jurisdictions to regulatory and supervisory standards on international cooperation and information exchange.

The FSA's business plan sets out the future financial services regulation

The FSA has used its recently published 2011/2012 Business Plan as an opportunity to set out the steps it is taking towards regulatory reform, which must be finalised by 2013. It has listed the key areas for its incoming work programme which has been restructured to align with legislation currently before Parliament and the Financial Services Bill.

Keep track of what's in your ETF

I came across a new organisation last week - the Financial Stability Board. Maybe I should have been aware of its existence but as it was only set up two years ago, perhaps I could be forgiven for not having heard of it before.

The reason it crossed my radar screen was a report it published into exchange traded funds and how they might contain the seeds of the next market meltdown.

BOK: Accommodative Monetary Policy Must Be Adjusted

The Bank of Korea said Thursday it must adjust how accommodative its monetary policy stance is to ensure price stability, suggesting the central bank will continue to raise its policy rates to curb rising inflation.

"To prepare against an increase in world economic uncertainties due to the growth in global inflationary pressures and international financial market instability, the degree of monetary policy accommodativeness must be adjusted at an appropriate speed and extent, with an emphasis on ensuring that the basis for price stability is firmly anchored amid continuing sound economic growth," the BOK said in its biannual financial stability report.

‘RBI should have primacy on issue of financial stability’

The role of the Reserve Bank of India was central to the issue of financial stability and this could be jeopardised with the formation of a new agency — the Financial Stability Development Council, or FSDC, according to former RBI governor Y Venugopal Reddy.

Massillon Ward 3 candidates focus on financial stability

Four women want to fill the 3rd Ward council seat being vacated by mayoral candidate Kathy Catazaro-Perry, who is the sole female councilor on the nine-member legislative body.

Three Democrats and one Republican are up for the seat, which Catazaro-Perry has held for eight years.

Stability board warns of ETF contagion risk

The Financial Stability Board has warned of the rapid growth and increasing complexity of the exchange traded fund market.

The FSB, made up of the world’s central banks and financial regulators, was created in April 2009 from the Financial Stability Forum after leaders of the G20 countries called for an expanded membership beyond the G7 nations. It published a note last week which warned of a number of “disquieting developments” in the ETF market.

GP consortia face 'significant financial instability' unless they share risks

A number of GP commissioning consortia are likely to hit serious financial trouble unless their risks are shared across larger patient populations, researchers have warned.

The study published in the Journal of Health Services Research and Policy calculates that consortia in some areas will struggle to balance the 'legitimate' needs of their populations without overspending.

SARB: No insurance industry imbalances

No imbalances could be identified in the insurance sector during the last quarter of 2010, the Financial Stability Review (FSR) of the SA Reserve Bank (SARB) released Wednesday reported. The document takes account of economic and financial sector developments in the second half of 2010.

The FSR did however note that the local insurance industry faced several financial and administrative challenges in 2010 including the introduction of the Solvency Assessment and Management (SAM) system.

Basci Says Price, Financial Stability Remain Turkish Goals

Erdem Basci, Turkey’s new central bank governor, said he shared the goals of securing price and financial stability with his predecessor.

“Your vision is our vision,” Basci told outgoing Governor Durmus Yilmaz during a handover ceremony today in Ankara. Basci said he aimed to make the bank a leading monetary authority globally.

Banks' claims they will move abroad are 'empty threats' says Financial Stability Board boss Svein Andresen

Claims by banks that they will relocate to foreign shores in protest at strict new rules are largely empty threats, the global financial regulator has suggested.

Big banks in the UK and US have threatened to "migrate" if they are subjected to strict new regulations, taking tax revenues and future investment with them.

Delays, divergence threaten swaps crackdown: FSB

Global efforts to rein in the over-the-counter derivatives market are being threatened by worrisome delays and divergent approaches, an international policy-coordinating panel said on Friday.

The Swiss-based Financial Stability Board (FSB) said it was "concerned" that many members of the Group of 20 wealthy nations may not meet an end-2012 deadline to tighten oversight of the $600 trillion OTC market for derivatives such as swaps.

Selection of 'Systemic' Risk Firms Draws Critics

Lawmakers of both parties criticized regulators' efforts to determine which large firms could pose a risk to the financial system.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council, created by Congress last year as part of the financial-regulatory-overhaul law, is deciding which nonbank financial firms could have "systemic" effects if they got into trouble and possibly need a government bailout in a crisis. Such firms would be subject to stricter capital standards and regulation than before.

IMF: Government Debt, Capital Flows Threaten Financial Stability

Global financial stability has improved in recent months on the back of a strengthening recovery, but vulnerabilities remain due to high government debt levels in advanced economies that are putting pressure on banks' balance sheets even as the effort to repair the financial system remains incomplete, the International Monetary Fund said in a report Wednesday.

Financial Stability Board warns on exchange traded funds

Exchange traded funds pose a serious risk of causing a new financial crisis and should be put under the spotlight so that the signs of a market crash are spotted early, according to the Financial Stability Board.

The FSB, which represents the world's main regulators and central banks, said it had seen "a number of disquieting developments" in the market for ETFs and said funds must do more to ensure that investors fully understood the risks posed by them.

Government intervention makes housing booms and busts worse says IMF

An IMF report has linked government intervention in housing finance with property price swings.

Chapter 3 of the IMF ‘Global Financial Stability Report’ which is entitled ‘Housing Finance and Financial Stability-Back to Basics?‘ points out the importance of the housing sector to a country’s economy. It also says that a fast increase in mortgage credit is strongly linked to strong house price rises.

IMF calls for LTV caps

The International Monetary Fund is calling for limits on LTV ratios and for higher LTVs to only be made available to those who purchase mortgage insurance.

In the IMF’s Global Financial Stability Report, it argues that European regulators should be handed the power to introduce LTV caps.

Financial Stability Board warns of risk-taking due to low interest rates

Low interest rates have led investors to start taking risks that could create the conditions for a new crisis, according to the world's leading financial watchdog.

In a strong warning to regulators around the world, the Financial Stability Board said that investors were taking "non-standard" risks as they search for assets that offer them an attractive yield.

'Vulnerabilities' in global financial system: oversight body

ROME — The Financial Stability Board (FSB) on Tuesday warned of "vulnerabilities" in the global financial system including "pockets of weakness" in banks and higher risk-taking because of low interest rates.

The FSB also urged governments to take "immediate, concrete steps" to implement commitments on reforming the market for derivatives -- complex financial products seen as one of the factors in the global financial crisis.

Mexico Financial Stability Report Shows Banks Pass Stress Test

MEXICO CITY (MNI) - Mexico's banking system is so sound that even under stress it would maintain acceptable levels of capitalization, Mexico's Financial Stability Board said in its first annual report released Monday.

The board ran a number of "stress tests" on Mexico's financial system that found the biggest risks to stability are: an abrupt reversal in capital flows, European fiscal problems affecting local banks and an abrupt deceleration in economic activity.

'The strategy to preserve financial stability in the euro area is working'

Head of bailout fund Klaus Regling says Ireland’s debts are sustainable and default would be ‘unwise’

IRELAND’S EXPANDING bank rescue just got bigger, Portugal’s plight worsens by the day and Greece seems as far away as ever from salvation. But Klaus Regling, chief of the euro zone bailout fund, insists EU leaders have finally turned the corner in their titanic battle against the sovereign debt crisis.

Economy: IMF advises Cameroon on financial stability

Yaounde, Cameroon - The IMF has warned that Cameroonian financial stability can only be achieved through enhanced surveillance on and close monitoring of its financial institutions, according to an IMF mission which ended a working visit to Yaounde Thursday. Led by Mauro Mecagni, the mission visited Cameroon from 16 to 31 March, for consultations under the IMF Article IV for the year 2011. The IMF consults annually with each member government. Through these contacts, known as “Article IV Consultations,” the IMF attempts to assess each country’s economic health and to forestall future financial problems. The fund also operates the IMF Institute, a department that provides training in macroeconomic analysis and policy formulation for officials of member countries. During the visit, IMF officials met with the Cameroonian ministers of finance, economy, planning and regional planning, the Prime Minister, other top government officials and parliamentarians involved in budgeting.