Transparency International has sent an open letter to European Commissioner Mairead McGuinness calling for support for proposals from the European Parliament regarding transparency of ultimate beneficial owners (UBO) in the 6th Anti-Money Laundering Directive. McGuinness is European Commissioner for Financial Services, Financial Stability and the Capital Markets Union, and has done pioneering work in combating financial crime. The letter was signed by 200 representatives from academia, civil society and media organisations active in 67 countries. 

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by Michael Ehrmann, Phillipp Gnan and Kilian Rieder

At times, media reports on ECB monetary policy refer to information from unidentified Eurosystem sources. This ECB Blog post takes a closer look at such leaks. They tend to go against prevailing trends in short-term rates and can trigger major market reactions even though they are not generally informative about upcoming decisions. Readers of ECB-related news occasionally stumble across reporting that cites unnamed Eurosystem “insiders” or “sources”. What drives such leaks and how do they impact public views? To understand this better, we have taken a systematic look at their frequency, when they typically occur, and how they affect financial markets. The effects of unattributed communication about monetary policy are not well understood. They may, for instance, move markets in the run-up to policy meetings and thereby reduce policy flexibility, or more generally harm a central bank’s credibility. Continue reading…

EU President von der Leyen on EU policies towards China at Session III of the G7, Foreign and Security Policy: “Our policies towards China need to change because China has changed. China has moved from “reform and opening” to “security and control”. China has become more repressive at home and more assertive abroad, particularly in its neighbourhood. And China struck an “unlimited friendship” with Russia on the eve of the brutal invasion of Ukraine. At the same time decoupling from China is neither viable nor in our interest. Therefore we should keep open communication lines and working with China in areas like climate change, pandemic preparedness, financial stability or nuclear proliferation. At the same time we have to reduce our vulnerabilities in our economic relationship (economic de-risking).”
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As part of Project Polaris, the BIS Innovation Hub Nordic Centre has recently published a comprehensive handbook exploring key aspects of how central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) could work for offline payments. The ability to make payments offline means being able to use a CBDC without being connected to the internet, either temporarily or because of coverage limitations. Central banks considering the potential implementation of CBDCs with offline functionality must take into account a complex matrix of issues including security, privacy, likely risks, the types of solution, their maturity and applicability, and operational factors. The handbook, compiled in partnership with Consult Hyperion, addresses these issues as well as objectives for resilience, inclusion, cash resemblance, accessibility and other desired attributes. Continue reading…

The Commission has proposed new rules to help companies, especially small and medium-sized companies (SMEs), make the most of their inventions, leverage new technologies and contribute to the EU’s competitiveness and technological sovereignty. The proposed Regulations on standard essential patents, compulsory licensing of patents in crisis situations, and the revision of the legislation on supplementary protection certificates will create a more transparent, effective and futureproof intellectual property rights framework. Intangible assets like brands, designs, patents and data are increasingly important in today’s knowledge economy. Intellectual property (IP) is a key driver for economic growth as it helps companies gain value from their intangible assets. IP-intensive industries account for almost half of all GDP and over 90% of all EU exports. In the period 2017–2019, nearly 76% of intra-EU trade was generated by patent-intensive industries.
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by Simon Lelieveldt

So what’s the deal with the ING 2018 attempt to raise the salary of Hamers? How should non-Dutchies understand the recent reprimand of former CEO Ralph Hamers, former supervisory board chair Jeroen van der Veer and some guy Breukink (former supervisory board member acting as the head of remuneration committee)? Quite a number of people are asking me to provide my perspective, and while I’ve documented quite a lot on this topic in the Dutch media (notable a range of articles at Follow the Money and an open youtube public lecture), I didn’t do so in English. But now that the disciplinary action and reprimand is final, it seems a good moment to try and explain the Dutch peculiarities and board dynamics ING to a wider international audience. Continue reading…

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has used its powers to inspect sites in Exeter, Nottingham and Sheffield suspected of hosting illegally operated crypto ATMs, as part of a continued crackdown on this illicit sector. The inspections were part of a joint operation with the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit, Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit and the Nottinghamshire Police force.   Continue reading…

by Ida Wolden Bache

The Norwegian economy had recovered after the sharp downturn during the pandemic. High energy prices and a sharp rise in international goods prices had driven up consumer price inflation to a level markedly above the inflation target. Economic activity was strong, and job vacancies were high. Norges Bank expected rising wage growth and higher imported goods inflation to push up inflation through the year, and overall price inflation was projected to be 3.4 percent in 2022. The policy rate was projected to rise towards 2 percent over spring 2023. These forecasts were less than accurate. The policy rate has been raised faster and more than projected in March 2022. The policy rate was raised in response to a considerably faster rise in inflation than projected. Norges Bank’s task is to keep inflation low and stable. The operational target is inflation of close to 2 percent over time. Inflation targeting shall be forward-looking and flexible so that monetary policy can also contribute to high and stable output and employment and to countering the build-up of financial imbalances. High inflation is costly for society. It increases uncertainty about future inflation and makes economic planning difficult. Uncertainty can also lead to a situation where investment projects with longer horizons must give way to investment projects with shorter horizons. Rapid and unexpected price increases hit low-income households with the smallest margins hardest.
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The finish line for US dollar (USD) LIBOR transition at end-June 2023 is now less than three months away. There has been significant progress made to date, and market participants must continue to act in order to ensure an orderly transition and to support the foundations necessary for a sustainable and stable financial system going forward. Given the limited time ahead, the FSB stresses that it is critical that market participants act expeditiously to ensure that their legacy contracts are prepared to transition by end-June 2023. Continue reading…