Growth in the number of credit card payments rose sharply from 2015 to 2016–eclipsing growth for other card types, according to new payments data collected by the Federal Reserve. A notable increase was also seen last year in the number of card payments made remotely versus in person. The number of credit card payments grew 10.2 percent in 2016 to 37.3 billion with a total value of $3.27 trillion. The increase in the number of payments compares with an 8.1 percent annual rate from 2012 to 2015 and was boosted by continued strong growth in the number of payments made remotely.
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The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today its final guidance for the use of cloud service providers by financial institutions. The EBA Recommendations clarify the EU-wide supervisory expectations if institutions intend to adopt cloud computing, so as to allow them to leverage the benefits of using cloud services, while ensuring that any related risks are adequately identified and managed.
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Europe’s capital markets will be more efficient and better supervised thanks to a revamp of rules for investment firms. The European Commission is proposing a two-track overhaul to make life simpler for smaller investment firms, while bringing the largest, systemic ones under the same regime as European banks. Investment firms and the services they provide are vital to a well-functioning Capital Markets Union (CMU). Continue reading…

The European Commission has proposed, exceptionally, to push back  the application date of the Insurance Distribution Directive (IDD) by seven months to 1 October 2018. The European Parliament and 16 Member States have requested such a postponement. Despite the transposition period foreseen and the fact that the date of entry into application was well known to stakeholders, it appears that some insurance distributors, especially smaller ones, are not yet fully ready for the new rules. Continue reading…

During the 53rd SEACEN Governors’ Conference/ High-Level Seminar and the 37th Meeting of the SEACEN Board of Governors in Bangkok, Benoît Cœuré, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB gave a speech, in which he explains why political risks cannot be addressed in the same way as economic risks. That central banks should not prejudge political outcomes through their actions. Rather, they should address their effects if and when they become visible in the economic and financial data that are relevant for their price stability mandates. Continue reading…

Triffin gained enormous influence by reviving the interwar story that gold scarcity threatened deflation. In particular, he held that central banks needed to accumulate claims on the United States to back money growth. But the claims would eventually surpass the US gold stock and then central banks would inevitably stage a run on it. He feared that the resulting high US interest rates would cause global deflation. However, we show that the US gold position after WWII was no worse than the UK position in 1900. Yet it took WWI to break sterling’s gold link. And better and feasible US policies could have kept Bretton Woods going.
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The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published the MiFID II/MiFIR transitional transparency calculations (TTC) for equity and bond instruments. This ublication means that TTC for all asset classes, applicable from 3 January 2018, are now available to market participants, infrastructures and authorities as required under the new regulatory framework.
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The federal banking agencies announced their support for the conclusion of efforts to reform the international bank capital standards initiated in response to the global financial crisis. The Governors and Heads of Supervision and the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision Thursday announced the finalization of the reforms to the “Basel III” agreement on bank capital standards.  With this agreement, the Basel Committee will bring to conclusion the international reforms initiated in response to the global financial crisis.
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The Governing Council decided on changes to the collateral eligibility criteria applicable to unsecured bank bonds, i.e. unsecured debt instruments issued by credit institutions, investment firms or entities closely linked to them. A press release providing more detailed information on the amended criteria, which will take effect from the entry into force of the regular update of the General Documentation (expected in the first quarter of 2018). You can read more decisions taken by the Governing Council of the ECB here on our website.
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