Some have lauded the U.S. Federal Reserve’s first interest rate hike after seven years as a beginning step toward the normalization of monetary policy. In recent remarks at the Bank for International Settlements’ Farewell Symposium in honor of outgoing Chairman Christian Noyer, the Fed’s vice chairman, Stanley Fischer, addressed the issue that has been raised by the BIS for … [Read more...] about The Lean or Clean Controversy
The Unthinkable as the New Normal
On June 28, 2015, the oldest international financial institution, the Basel-based eighty-five-year-old Bank for International Settlements, asked in its annual report a most pertinent question: “Is the unthinkable becoming routine?” The report pointed out that low interest rates “are the most remarkable symptom of a broader malaise in the global economy: the economic expansion … [Read more...] about The Unthinkable as the New Normal
The History of Debt relief
In 1986, then-Senator Bill Bradley called for third-world debt relief at a meeting in Zürich. That was highly controversial. But the debt conversion and reduction move led, a few years later, to the success of debt relief in the form of the Brady Plan. Issuing “Brady Bonds” helped former problem debtors in Latin America regain access to capital markets. Ever since Greece’s … [Read more...] about The History of Debt relief
The Sadness of Karl otto Pöhl’s legacy
With the largest ever bond-buying program by the European Central Bank looming, Bundesbankers were in an apprehensive mood when they gathered on January 13 for a commemorative ceremony to mark the passing of the Bundesbank’s former President Karl Otto Pöhl. Pöhl, who for decades served as a member of TIE’s editorial advisory board, passed away December 9, 2014, at the age of … [Read more...] about The Sadness of Karl otto Pöhl’s legacy
After the bank stress tests, ECB backroom tension lingers
The surprisingly positive outcome of the ECB’s health check for German banks may be something of a reprieve for the strained relations between Germany and the evermore- powerful European Central Bank under its controversial Italian president, Mario Draghi. But for the ECB, the real stress and tests are yet to come for the supervisor tasked with making hard decisions with … [Read more...] about After the bank stress tests, ECB backroom tension lingers