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Head Of Largest Swiss Cantonal Bank Says Swiss Capital Controls Are “Certainly Possible”
Head Of Largest Swiss Cantonal Bank Says Swiss Capital Controls Are “Certainly Possible”
Yesterday, when we reported that the SNB had hinted at that most dreaded of possibilities for central planners, one which always implies full loss of central bank credibility, namely capital control, for some inexplicable reason various readers and even contributors (“Another misleading headline by the Tylers. What yellow journalism“) got offended that we dared to point out that the central bank which two days before it crushed FX traders by ending its CHF cap had sworn that “we are convinced that the minimum exchange rate must remain the cornerstone of our monetary policy.”
Turns out “yellow journalism” as some call it – usually those who have conflicts of interest and/or put trades in the opposite direction – was spot on once again. Because if yesterday, the SNB’s Jordan merely hinted at capital controls when as he was quoted by Bloomberg (not Reuters), as saying that capital controls “was not a measure that is at the forefront at the moment“,which as we explained “the best way to admit the possibility of capital controls is to not explicitly, and unequivocally reject them. That there is even a possibility of capital controls in a central bank’s arsenal, and everyone suddenly begins to pay attention” then today the head of the largest Swiss cantonal bank, and the fourth largest Swiss Bank, the Zurich Cantonal Bank or ZCB, came out and explicitly said what so many fear (and which warning they would ascribe to as the case may be “yellow journalism”), namely that “lowering Swiss National Bank’s already negative interest rate further or implementing capital controls would be “dramatic” but “certainly possible.”
This is what Zuercher Kantonalbank CEO Martin Scholl said in interview with newspaper Neue Zuercher Zeitung am Sonntag.
And just so readers (and so-called contributors) can blame the NZZ of fanning “yellow journalism” here is the explit quote from the interview:
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Iceland Unleashes Confiscatory “Exit Tax” On Wealth Deposits | Zero Hedge
Iceland Unleashes Confiscatory “Exit Tax” On Wealth Deposits | Zero Hedge.
While on the one hand, Iceland’s decision to inch towards lifting its capital controls is a positive step, it appears what they give with one hand they are taking with another. Just as we predicted three years ago,the muddle-through has failed and there are only hard choices left and sure enough BCG’s envisioned ‘wealth tax’ appears to be rearing its ugly head once more. As Morgunbladid reports, Iceland plans to impose an exit tax as part of removing capital controls, anticipating all bank assets will be subject to the levy, regardless of whether assets are held in local (ISK) or foreign exchange.
As Bloomberg reports,
Iceland’s plan to impose an exit tax as part of removing capital controls anticipates all bank assets will be subject to levy, regardless of whether assets are held in ISK or FX,Morgunbladid reports without saying how it obtained the information.
Part of program may also include forcing foreign holders of ISK assets to swap ISK at discount to a 30-yr FX bond; bond to carry interest rate less than 3%: Morgunbladid
NOTE: Iceland task force on capital controls’ removal met yesterday with representatives of Kaupthing Bank hf, Glitnir Bank hf and LBI hf. The country may proceed with lifting controls early next year, according to task force member Lee C. Buchheit
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
China’s Vicious Growth Circle by Keyu Jin – Project Syndicate
China’s Vicious Growth Circle by Keyu Jin – Project Syndicate.
LONDON – Most economists have a reason to be worried about China’s economy – whether it be low consumption and large external surpluses, industrial overcapacity, environmental degradation, or government interventions like capital controls or financial repression. What many fail to recognize is that these are merely the symptoms of a single underlying problem: China’s skewed growth model.
That model is, to some extent, a policy-induced construct, the result of a deep-rooted bias toward construction and manufacturing as the leading drivers of economic development. This predilection harkens back to the Great Leap Forward of the 1950s, when scrap metal was melted to meet wildly optimistic steel-production targets, thereby advancing Mao’s dream of rapid industrialization.
Today, China’s proclivity for industrial production is manifested in large-scale manufacturing and infrastructure projects, encouraged by direct and indirect government subsidies. By boosting investment and generating tax revenue for local governments, this approach has a more immediate positive impact on GDP than efforts to develop the service sector.
…click on the link above to read the rest of the article…
