Banks in Australia will have to stress test their resilience to financial risks associated with climate change, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) said in a letter.

The Riksbank, Sweden’s central bank, is testing the e-krona, potentially bringing the country closer to launching the first central bank digital currency. 

Banks are putting themselves and the financial system at substantial risk by not being properly prepared for climate change-related rules, carbon taxes and the impact on their loan portfolios. 

Floods of new corporate bonds coupled with very low interest rates represents a growing risk to investors in some of the world’s largest bond funds, according to asset manager GMO.  

High risks remain along with a weaker economic outlook as markets remain highly sensitive to geopolitical events, warned the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) in its latest Trends, Risks and Vulnerability report.  

A shake-up in the way equity market data is collected and distributed along with faster delivery to investors is being proposed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 

The recent proposed loosening of some restrictions in the Volcker rule on banks investing in certain covered funds is proof of deregulation and is a credit negative, said Fitch Ratings in a note. 

On February 26, the Bank of England told banks to turbo charge their move away from the sterling London interbank offered rate (Libor) to avoid facing punitive regulatory sanctions. 

Hong Kong is taking measures to boost financial services in its budget, which include a range of tax cuts on certain financial activities. 

Some 64 banks are taking part in Switzerland’s small bank regime, which aims to reduce the regulatory burden for these institutions, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) said in a statement.