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ECB interest rate decision - no change
EUROPE - The European Central Bank held interest rates steady on 23 May, as expected, despite pessimism about the euro zone's economic performance and prospects.
People's Bank plans customer protection scheme
CHINA - China plans to set up a deposit insurance system to protect bank customers and reduce increasing risks in the banking sector. Announcing the plan, People's Bank of China (PBOC) Vice-Governor Wu Xialiang, said establishing such a system was an…
Government proposals rejected by bank panel
INDONESIA - An independent panel formed to review proposed changes to Indonesia's central bank law has rejected a proposal that will allow the president to dismiss the central bank's board of governors.
Central bank to review monetary trends weekly
HUNGARY - The National Bank of Hungary (NBH) has said that its monetary committee will in the future review monetary trends and the operation of monetary policy tools on a weekly basis, on the first working day of a week.
Hayami repeats reform need for economic recovery
JAPAN - Bank of Japan Governor Masaru Hayami played up the need for Japan to promote structural reforms in order to help its depressed economy get back on track.
Pricing of interbank payment services
RESEARCH - John A Weinberg, Vice President and Economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond has written a discussion paper titled 'The Pricing of Interbank Payment Services in a Changing Competitive Environment'. The paper was completed while he was…
Banks and Systemic Risk - Theory and Evidence
SPEECH - David Clementi, Deputy Governor of the Bank of England and a member of the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee spoke on 23 May at a conference of the Bank of England in London.
Monetary policy formulation in the euro area
SPEECH - Christian Noyer, Vice-President of the European Central Bank, spoke at the "Monetary Policy and the Markets" conference of the National Association for Business Economics, Washington, DC on 23 May.
Strong backing for Bank of England rate cut
UK - The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of England voted eight-to-one to trim interest rates 0.25%, when they met earlier this month, minutes from the meeting have shown.
The outlook for the economy
SPEECH - President Santomero of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on the outlook for the US economy. He was speaking on 22 May at the County Chamber of Commerce, Philadelphia.
Euro-enthusiast gets leading CBI job
UK - The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has appointed a leading euro-enthusiast to one of its principal policy-making committees.
Possible successors to Duisenberg listed
FRANCE - French Finance Minister Laurent Fabius, BNP Paribas Chairman Michel Pebereau, European Union Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy and European Central Bank board member Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa are possible successors to ECB President Wim Duisenberg…
OECD praises Irish economy
IRELAND - The OECD has praised the Irish government's management of its economy and played down the prospect of it overheating.
World Bank cancels Barcelona conference
SPAIN - The World Bank has decided to suspend its Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics (ABCDE) in Europe, due to be held in Barcelona on June 25-27, to avoid protests from anti-capitalist groups that had stated their intention to disrupt the…
Low inflation may erode bank's credibility
SPEECH - The Bank of England's credibility could be at risk if it continues to undershoot its 2.5 per cent inflation target for more than another two years, according to a member of the bank's Monetary Policy Committee.
ECB monthly bulletin May 2001
EUROPE - The European Central Bank has published its monthly bulletin for May 2001. It considers economic developments in the euro area, framework and tools of monetary analysis, and the new capital adequacy regime - the ECB perspective.
Bank Indonesia will keep stable monetary policy
INDONESIA - Bank Indonesia said on 15 May that it will consistently maintain a prudent monetary policy and that high inflationary pressures are likely to be a great challenge until the end of the year.
Monthly economic report from Bank of Japan
Japan - The Bank of Japan published its monthly monetary policy report of recent economic and financial developments on 21 May.
Fabius backs ECB independence on monetary policy
FRANCE - The European Central Bank must and does set monetary policy independently, French Finance Minister Laurent Fabius said on 20 May, adding that he believed the bank was not indifferent to the downturn in global economic growth.
BOJ maintains gloomy overall view of economy
TOKYO - The Bank of Japan maintained its gloomy overall view on business conditions on 21 May, saying weaker exports were denting production and keeping the economy stuck in an adjustment phase.
Backstrom - Riksbank must 'wait and see' on rates
SWEDEN - The governor of Sweden's central bank said on 18 May the Riksbank would adopt a "wait and see" policy on rates because inflation risks were hard to assess.
Fed resisted surprise cut in rates
US - The Federal Reserve's committee of policymakers considered a surprise cut on 11 April but held off for fear of upsetting volatile stock markets.
Central bank cuts rates in Taiwan
TAIPEI - Taiwan's short-term money rates ended lower on 18 May after the central bank aggressively cut interest rates yesterday, 17 May, and the banking system's daily reserves showed a surplus from the previous session.
Duisenberg doing very good job - ECB's Mersch
LUXEMBOURG - European Central Bank council member Yves Mersch said that ECB President Wim Duisenberg's performance at the bank's helm had been 'very good' and that talk of his retirement was premature.