Central Banking staff
Follow Central Banking
Articles by Central Banking staff
Settlement agreement between Lithuania and Belarus
The heads of the central banks of Lithuania and Belarus have signed an agreement on the procedure for settling accounts among economic entities, the Bank of Lithuania reported.
Patil to head proposed SBI clearing corporation
R H Patil, former managing director of the Indian National Stock Exchange, is expected to take charge as the chairman of the proposed SBI Clearing Corporation for the money and foreign exchange market.
Turkish central bank eases liquidity squeeze
Turkey's central bank and treasury held two purchases of government bonds on Monday as part of a package of measures to ease a liquidity squeeze that shook markets last week.
Russia govt proposes to amend banking legislation
The Russian federal government and the central bank have submitted amendments to banking laws to the Duma. The government proposed these same bills back in 1999, on the insistence of international financial organisations.
Pakistan cenbank appoints seven primary dealers
Pakistan's central bank on Monday appointed seven banks as primary money market dealers for the government securities, five months after it announced plans for the new system.
HKMA says maintains open mind on deposit insurance
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) said on Monday it still has an open mind on whether Hong Kong needs a deposit insurance scheme, and will not rule out extending a consultation period on the issue.
Polish MPC hits at budget, rate outlook unclear
Poland's monetary policy council raised doubts on Monday about its readiness to cut interest rates next year, when it said the government's plan for cutting the budget deficit relied on "unrealistic" targets.
Bank of Israel cuts key rate 0.2% for December
The Bank of Israel said on Monday it would reduce its key lending rate by 0.2% point to 8.2% effective December 1, the eleventh rate cut in a year.
Hungary's lower reserve rate seen positive
The National Bank of Hungary said it would cut its effective mandatory reserve rate to 7% from 11% as of 1 February. Analysts said that this would improve the competitiveness of the banking sector, boost growth and stimulate investment.
Peru finance minister says debt payments too heavy
Peru will want to pay much less than the $2.1 billion that it owes on its external debt payments for next year, the new finance minister, Javier Silva Ruete, was reported saying in a number of newspapers Monday.
Bank of Thailand considers sale of two state banks
The Bank of Thailand said Monday it will hold meetings to consider the sales of two nationalised banks - Siam City Bank (H.SCB) and Bangkok Metropolitan Bank PCL (H.BMB) on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.
Euro has been a success - Banque de France Trichet
Bank of France governor Jean-Claude Trichet said Monday that the euro has been a success since its launch. In a speech in Tokyo, Trichet said that the single European currency has been both a technical success, and a "benchmarking" success - in that the…
IMF says Turkey policy on track
The International Monetary Fund said in a statement released on its website that the Turkish government's IMF-supported economic programme was on track and is expected to remain so.
Thai central bank clamps down on baht speculation
The Bank of Thailand clamped down further on baht speculation on Monday, telling local banks it would start strictly enforcing a ban on one-day, tom/next and forward dollar/baht deals with offshore parties if there was no underlying commercial purpose.
German treasury loses out over euro seigniorage
According to the German economics institute IFO, the introduction of the euro coins and banknotes at the beginning of 2002 will cause a financial loss to the German treasury of DM60bn.
Stiffer tests for future Eurozone members -Welteke
Ernst Welteke, president of the Bundesbank, has raised concerns about whether the countries preparing to join the European Union in the next few years would be ready to become members of the EU's single currency.
Probe begins at Bank into declining staff morale
The governing court of the Bank of England has ordered an investigation into falling morale at the Bank, following the introduction of a controversial new benefits package for staff.
Bank of Japan can learn from Sweden on inflation
In a letter to the editor in Financial Times today, Professor Lars Jonung argues that the Bank of Japan can learn from the Riksbank in adopting a zero inflation target.
Gerashchenko angry at MPs for changing auditor
Russian newspapers report on Viktor Gerashchenko's anger about the Duma's decision to ditch the central bank's auditor Price Waterhouse Coopers in favour of Deloitte & Touche.
Euro weakness must be seen in context - Schioppa
European Central Bank council member Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa on Saturday said that the euro's current weakness needed to be judged in light of historical exaggerations in currency swings.
Issing says uncertainty over US economic outlook
European Central Bank member Otmar Issing said investors have become more cautious on the outlook for the dollar and that the U.S. economy is slowing faster than Europe's, an Italian financial paper reported on Saturday.
BOT governor urges changes to central bank statute
Bank of Thailand governor Chatu Mongol Sonakul has suggested that a statute be introduced to turn the central bank into a "constitutional body of parliament" similar to the Election Commission or the national Frequency Management Board.
Hungary PM asks Jarai to be central bank chief
In a widely tipped move, Hungary's prime minister, Viktor Orban, has asked minister of finance Zsigmond Jarai to head the National Bank of Hungary from March, when the six-year tenure of the current president Gyorgy Suranyi expires.