News
India's central bank urges state govts to reform
India's central bank on Friday urged the country's state governments to enact speedy reforms."As a result of financial sector reform, there are more stringent overall limits to fiscal expansion, impinging on both central and state governments," Reserve…
Morocco foreign reserves down 5.7% in September
Moroccan foreign reserves fell 5.5% to 55,860 million dirhams ($4.98bn) at the end of September compared with the same period last year, the entral bank said on Friday.
Gerashchenko wanted to keep PwC as auditors
Russia's lower house of parliament, the State Duma, Friday approved Deloitte Touche as the central bank's auditor for 2000, replacing PricewaterhouseCooper's. Speaking after the vote, central bank governor Viktor Gerashchenko said he had hoped to retain…
Vietnam central bank agrees on bank merging plan
Vietnam's central bank has agreed in principle to the merger of two commercial banks but a final decision will be announced after merging procedures are completed, a bank official said on Friday.
India's RBI advocates cautious pension reform
The Indian government needs to move cautiously before letting the private sector manage pension funds, a top central bank official said on Friday.
IBRA speeds up sale of Salim corporate assets
The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) is speeding up the sale of corporate assets once owned by the Salim Group even as the two sides prepare to face off in a test of wills that could have severe ramifications for the country's economic…
Japan FRC head urges BOJ broad view on easing
Japan's top financial regulator on Friday urged the Bank of Japan to take a broad view in deciding whether or not to ease monetary policy, implying he favoured an easing.
Thai bank chief calls for focus on banking bills
Thailand's central bank governor Chatu Mongkol Sonakul on Friday urged the next government to treat as a priority the passing into law of pending banking legislation.
Indonesia: 'Halt the case against Sjahril'
A lawyer representing suspended Bank Indonesia governor Sjahril Sabirin in the Bank Bali scandal said on Friday that prosecution should be halted since other defendants in the case had been declared not guilty by a district court.
El Salvador to use dollar as 'parallel currency'
El Salvador will allow the US dollar to circulate freely alongside its own currency in the new year under a monetary law sent to Congress by the president on Thursday.
SAMA introduces sliding brokerage fees
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency has introduced a new sliding scale of brokerage fees taking effect from 1 January 2001.
South Korea economy heads for slowdown
South Korea posted a strong growth rate of 9.2% in the third quarter, but analysts warn that the economy could begin looking much weaker in the fourth quarter because of increased bankruptcies for debt-heavy companies and resulting job losses.
Russia's gold reserves up on last week
Russia's gold and foreign currency reserves were $26.5bn on 17 November, up from $26bn on 10 November, the central bank said in a press release on Thursday.
IMF mission leaves Russia with no agreement
Russia is likely to get a frosty reception from the Paris Club of sovereign creditors after an International Monetary Fund mission left Moscow this week without reaching agreement.
Nigeria cenbank cuts lending rate to banks to 14%
The Central Bank of Nigeria announced on Thursday it had slashed its benchmark minimum rediscount rate (MRR) by 200 basis points to 14%, saying this reflected the low level of inflation in the West African country.
CNB board makes no policy change at meeting
The Czech central bank (CNB) said on Thursday its regular governing board meeting had ended and no monetary policy decisions had been taken.
Cuba tests new waters in foreign debt relief talks
Cuban envoys, testing uncharted waters, met foreign government representatives on Thursday to discuss what could amount to a landmark deal to alleviate the pain of Havana's crippling foreign debts.
NBS raps Slovak government for spending plans
The Slovak central bank (NBS) has raised its 2001 inflation forecast to between 6.8% to 7.7%, local news agency SITA reported on Thursday, citing an NBS document commenting on the government's 2001 budget proposal.
Argentina awaits emergency package from IMF
An emergency economic package required by the IMF will be passed in full within 30 days, Jose Luis Machinea, Argentina's economy minister, insisted on Thursday.
Norges Bank supports MeritaNordbanken's buy
The Norwegian central bank, Norges Bank, said Thursday it recommends to the Norwegian banking and insurance authority that Nordic Baltic Holding and its unit MeritaNordbanken (S.MNB) be allowed to acquire Christiania Bank og Kreditkassen (Y.CBK).
Timetable set for Bank Indonesia reform
The Indonesian parliament vowed Thursday to speed up deliberations on crucial changes of management and legal governance at the country's central bank.
Duma committee recommends FBK for cenbank audit
The Duma Banking Committee made a decision at a closed meeting today to recommend that the Duma approve the FBK company as a subcontractor of Deloitte & Touche for the audit of the central bank's annual report for 2000 at a session of the lower house on…
Chile Q3 GDP grew 5.8% in quarter - central bank
Gross domestic product (GDP) for Chile, which is recovering from a recession, grew 5.8% in the third quarter of this year versus the same period last year, the central bank said on Thursday.