News
Russia may float currency rates in future
Russia's central bank first deputy Oleg Vyugin said on Tuesday 2 December that it will be two years, at the earliest, before Russia can switch to floating currency rates, according to a report by UPI "We must see whether it is effective, evaluate…
Reserve Bank of Australia lifts interest rate
Australia's Reserve Bank has again raised official interest rates, according to ABC Australia Radio News, taking them to their highest level in more than two and a half years. The RBA said in a statement released on Wednesday 3 December that the domestic…
RBI groups call for amendment to RBI Act
The Reserve Bank of India's working group have suggested amendments to the RBI Act (1934), according to The Financial Express. The group suggested flotation of interest-bearing deposits as an option, whereby the central bank pays interest on deposits…
Buba warns of tensions between ECB, politicians
Deputy chief of the Bundesbank, Juergen Stark, warned on Tuesday 2 December that the stability and growth pact dispute could lead to increased tensions between politicians and the European Central Bank, according to a report by EU Business. "Further…
RBNZ appoints 'fresh' face to advisory role
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has appointed Terry McFadgen as a part-time monetary policy advisor. The RBNZ employs two people as external advisors (the other advisor is Malcolm Bailey) to bring an outside perspective to decision making processes. The…
RBA gets new Assistant Governor, Business Services
The Reserve Bank of Australia has appointed a new assistant governor for business services. The RBA said Dr Bob Rankin would begin the position in January, when current assistant governor Geoff Board moved to head the bank's European Representative…
Banknotes and the glass of water test
Le Duc Thuy, the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, had a novel way of proving the durability of Vietnam's new 500,000 dong Australian-made polymer-based banknotes by dipping one specimen into a glass of water to demonstrate, Reuters reports. "People…
New Chairman of the Joint Forum
Gay Huey Evans, Director of Markets at the UK Financial Services Authority, will succeed Jose Maria Roldan as Chairman of the Joint Forum, a group of experts working under the umbrella of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision in January 2004. She…
Tom Hoenig, from baseball to banking
During a recent visit to a Kansas City school, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Tom Hoenig reminisced about his early experiences of banking as a 12-year-old baseball fan. He needed $100 to buy new equipment and his father talked a local…
Bank of Canada keeps rate at 2 3/4 per cent
The Bank of Canada held its main interest rate steady at a meeting on Tuesday 2 December, despite market worries over the impact of a soaring Canadian dollar and recent weaker-than-forecast economic growth.
Argentina c bank to issue new 3-year notes
The central bank of Argentina said on Monday 1 December that it will auction new NOBAC notes with an 8.0 percent coupon, Reuters reports. The bank will offer 25 million pesos ($8.4 million) worth of NOBAC and a further 25 million pesos of a similar…
Euro periphery may suffer from pact weakening
The fallout from last week's decisions on the stability and growth pact could impact on the bond markets of countries with less fiscally prudent reputations than Germany and France, according to a report by Reuters. Rating agency Standard & Poor's said…
Taiwan to relax ban on Chinese currency import
Taiwan's Ministry of Finance has said that travellers will not have to declare sums of 6,000 yuan or less which are brought into the country under new laws, according to a report by Associated Press. Travellers are currently banned from bringing China's…
Mboweni says price stability is SARB's aim
South African Reserve Bank governor Tito said on Monday 1 December that price stability remains the central bank's core objective, according to Finance 24. "Monetary policy will continue to focus on the objective of price stability" and the outlook for…
New Malaysian PM backs currency peg
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the recently elected Prime Minister of Malaysia, has said he favours the pegging of the country's currency to the US dollar. "I find that our exchange rate mechanism is very beneficial to our economy," Abdullah told a news…
OECD: Japan needs to fix its price problem
The OECD has urged continued reforms in Japan to allow a sustained recovery, according to a report by Pacific Business News. OECD economist Yutaka Imai called on the Japanese government to stimulate economic activity to stop prices from slipping.
Hardest working man in central banking
The title undoubtedly goes to Jaime Caruana, governor of the Bank of Spain, chairman of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, and a member of the governing board of the European Central Bank. The frequent flyer miles are piling up as Mr Caruana…
Trichet the internationalist
Jean-Claude Trichet, the new president of the ECB, has a reputation as a polished performer. He lived up to it at his first press conference in Frankfurt: first praising his predecessor, apologising when consistency necessitated repetition and peppering…
New Hong Kong banknotes
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has announced that its new series of HK$100 and HK$500 banknotes will be put into circulation from 15 December.
Bahrain to host cb governors for IFSB Council meet
Bahrain will host the 3rd meeting of the Council of the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) next week, according to AME info. The governor of the Bahrain Monetary Agency said "We are delighted to host such an important gathering of central bank…
BoJ to inject $9.1 billion to help stabilize mkt
The Bank of Japan is prepared to inject $9.1 billion into the financial system in an effort to stabilise markets, according to Associated Press. PM Junichiro Koizumi approved a decision on Saturday 29 November to purchase all of Ashikaga Financial Group…
US Fed to expand ACH payment system to Latin Am
Atlanta Fed officials have said that the Federal Reserve's ACH payment system will be expanded to include a Latin American country in 2004, according to Business News America, but the Atlanta retail payments office did not reveal the country due to…
Buba chief concerned about euro stability, growth
Bundesbank President Ernst Welteke said in an article published at the weekend by Welt am Sonntag that the Stability and Growth Pact has "not yet been buried," but it has been seriously damaged by the decision taken in Brussels. "It is now decisively…
BSP and SEC will jointly oversee money changers
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Securities and Exchange Commission have agreed jointly to monitor operations of money changers and non-bank remittance centers. The central bank will regulate these firms while the SEC will supervise them, BSP governor…