G Sreekumar, Author at Lion and Palm Tree

IMF’s Central Bank Transparency Code

When increased independence was being given to central banks across the world, especially in their conduct of monetary policy, and in countries implementing an inflation targeting framework, a key element was greater accountability of central banks, in which transparency and appropriate disclosures had a very important role. Transparency refers to the flow and accessibility of information from the central bank to its stakeholders and the public. They rely on that information to inform their judgment of the performance of the central bank and compliance with the central bank’s mandate. Transparency is also a key plank in the central bank’s broader governance and accountability framework. Continue reading “IMF’s Central Bank Transparency Code”

“Pandemic depression”: The way ahead

In the October/November 2020 issue of Foreign Affairs, Carmen Reinhart of the World Bank and Vincent Reinhart, Chief Economist for BNY Mellon Asset Management, have this article on “The Pandemic Depression: The Global Economy Will Never Be the Same.” They cite various data to justify the expression. Bank of England had predicted the steepest decline for UK since 1706. The unemployment figures in the US are the worst since the Bureau of Labor Statistics has had data on it. The World Trade Organization estimated that global trade is poised to fall by between 13 and 32 percent in 2020. And the World Bank had predicted that the global economy would shrink by 5.2 per cent in 2020, and that 60 million people will be pushed into extreme poverty as a result of the pandemic. Continue reading ““Pandemic depression”: The way ahead”

The Wolfsberg Group and Effectiveness in AML Compliance

The Wolfsberg Group is a private initiative of thirteen global banks aimed at developing frameworks and guidance for the management of financial crime risks, particularly with respect to Know Your Customer, Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorist Financing policies. Continue reading “The Wolfsberg Group and Effectiveness in AML Compliance”

Governor Brainard on Digital Currencies

Governor Lael Brainard of the US Federal Reserve, speaking at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s Innovation Office Hours, on 13 August 2020, gave an update on the work on Central Bank Digital Currencies in the US. She is a former Assistant and Associate Professor at MIT, and an Under Secretary in the Department of Treasury under the Obama administration. Continue reading “Governor Brainard on Digital Currencies”

Shiller’s Narrative Economics

Robert Shiller starts one of his lectures writing “RITUPARNA” on the board, asking the students who it was. Nobody knew. In Mahabharata, King Rituparna gave Nala, disguised as Bahuka, his charioteer, an estimate of the leaves and fruits on the branches of the Vibhitaka tree, and those on the ground. Nala counted and confirmed the estimate. Rituparna would teach Nala the art of gambling in exchange for the skills of a charioteer. Continue reading “Shiller’s Narrative Economics”

Gold at historical high

Earlier this week, gold crossed USD 2000 per troy ounce for the first time thus recording its highest level to date. Price of gold is inversely related to the dollar. This is because gold price is denominated in dollar. So, weaknesses in dollar get reflected as increase in price of gold. As we are going through uncertain times, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the stock market in the US has also been down, dollar has weakened. But, will gold prices remain high for long? Continue reading “Gold at historical high”

The Swedbank case

Out of the several money laundering cases in recent years, two of the most disturbing were those of Danske Bank and Swedbank, mainly because they were headquartered in Nordic countries where such cases were rare. Moreover, these countries are known for high standards of living, and very low levels of crime and corruption. Continue reading “The Swedbank case”

Apologies…

My apologies to the few who knew about and have been closely following this blog. In view of the lockdown, there should be no excuse for not updating the blog regularly. But, for the past two months, my priorities changed to doing numerous online courses, other writing, and researching for the same. As per my new schedule, starting from 1 August 2020, I will try and update with new posts at least twice a week, every Monday and Thursday, the other days being reserved for my other blogs.

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https://gsreekumar.substack.com/

Global Financial Stability Report June 2020

A link to the June 2020 Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR) of the IMF can be found here. The salient points of the GFSR are as follows: Continue reading “Global Financial Stability Report June 2020”

The Wirecard Scandal

Germany is not particularly known for corporate scandals. Unlike the USA or UK. Or the rest of Europe. The last big one was Volkswagen. But, one involving Wirecard, the payment processing firm with a global footprint, has been unravelling over the last one week, since Ernst & Young (EY), the company’s auditors, announced that it could not find USD 2.1 billion (Euro 1.9 billion), roughly a quarter of the balance sheet size. This is a first for the DAX, a 30-member index trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Continue reading “The Wirecard Scandal”