On 24-25 June 2010, the BIS held its Ninth Annual Conference, on "The future of central banking under post-crisis mandates" in Lucerne, Switzerland. The event brought together senior representatives of central banks and academic institutions who exchanged views on this topic. This volume...

This note discusses FX reserves management as practised by emerging market economies and, more specifically, by Saudi Arabia. It shares the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority's experience on reserve adequacy, investment objectives, philosophy and process, portfolio tranching, risk management and...

We document recent developments in the use of sterilization bonds by six central banks in emerging Asia, and discuss the implications for monetary policy and the financial sector. An important development in the sterilization of foreign exchange interventions in past years has been the frequent...

In the 2000s, after the introduction of inflation targeting, most monetary transmission channels were weak in Hungary, making monetary policy less effective. Inflation expectations were unanchored and fiscal policy was unsustainable. Households and the government built up high debt levels mainly...

This volume features eight papers written for the conference quot;Financial market developments and their implications for monetary policyquot;. The event was jointly organised by the BIS Representative Office for Asia and the Pacific and Bank Negara Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur on 13 August 2007....

Emerging market economies (EMEs) have increased their reserves holdings primarily for self-insurance. The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has accumulated its foreign exchange (FX) reserves for the same reason, recognising the need to reduce external vulnerability. Both debt issuance and the...

Now there is no part of our economic system which works so badly as our monetary and credit arrangements; none where the results of bad working are so disastrous socially; and none where it is easier to propose a scientific solution. (J. M. Keynes: Speech to the Liberal Party, December 1923, The...

Do different types of household credit affect income growth and income inequality differently? This empirical paper investigates this question by employing both macrolevel data and micro-level household survey data, covering the period since 1997. We find that the different types of household...

Hong Kong's inflation is heavily influenced by the development in the property market, as property prices can affect the CPI through the CPI rental component, rental cost effect on service fees and charges, and the wealth effect on aggregate demand. Therefore, the deployment of countercyclical...

Monetary policy in Argentina is in transition to an inflation targeting regime with a floating exchange rate. As reviewed in this note, several measures have been taken to normalise the functioning of exchange rate and money markets. The next steps will present a number of challenges, many of...