Central Banking staff
Follow Central Banking
Articles by Central Banking staff
Italy's Draghi: World Bank should reach out
The World Bank needs to reach out to all its member countries, said Mario Draghi, the governor of the Bank of Italy.
OTC derivatives central counterparty issue urgent
The Financial Stability Forum, a collection of central bankers and financial regulators, has urged market participants to swiftly establish a central counterparty for over-the-counter (OTC) credit derivatives, in its follow-up report on enhancing market…
Tokyo finally nominates deputy
The Japanese government has nominated Hirohide Yamaguchi for the role of deputy governor at the central bank, a position left vacant since March.
ECB to loan Hungary up to €5 billion
The European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday granted the National Bank of Hungary a €5 billion ($6.8 billion) credit line following sharp declines in the forint and local stocks the day before.
Bernanke, Kohn grim on outlook
Ben Bernanke and Don Kohn, the two top officials at the Federal Reserve, have forecast a gloomy outlook for the American economy.
Bank reforms money market operations
The Bank of England set out plans for three major reforms of its money market operations, including proposals for two new facilities aimed at alleviating the tensions that have kept prices for interbank loans well above historical norms.
Swiss step in to save biggest bank
The Swiss National Bank on Thursday agreed to buy up to $54 billion in troubled assets from UBS, after the country's government moved to re-capitalise the beleaguered bank.
Fed's Beige Book a glum read
The latest edition of the Federal Reserve's Beige Book, a guide to business conditions in the 12 districts overseen by the regional Feds, indicates that economic activity weakened in September across the US.
Russian reserve requirements cut to 0.5%
The Central Bank of Russia on Tuesday slashed its reserve requirements to 0.5%, a move which analysts say could add $2.7 billion-worth of liquidity into the system.
Fed picks Pimco to run commercial paper facility
The Federal Reserve has picked Pimco, a bond fund, to manage the assets of its Commercial Paper Funding Facility, which accepts unsecured debt notes direct from the issuer.
Norges Bank cuts on signs of swift slowdown
Norges Bank on Wednesday lopped half a point off its key rate on signs real economic activity would slow at a faster rate and to a greater degree than predicted.
India pledges more liquidity
The Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday took further steps to shore up liquidity, judging that the global turmoil warranted action.
Iceland slashes rates as economy faces meltdown
The Central Bank of Iceland has cut its key rate by 350 basis points on the back of the meltdown in the country's banking sector.
ECB makes bold attempt to break credit logjam
The European Central Bank's (ECB) latest action to unblock money markets, announced Wednesday, looks likely to succeed, economists say.
A better approach to prediction
The Philadelphia Federal Reserve has developed what it believes to be a superior approach to forecasting a range of macroeconomic variables.
MPC's Sentance: downturn risks on the rise
Severe stresses in the financial system and the news from the real economy have certainly increased the risks of a bigger and more sustained downturn, said Andrew Sentance, a member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee.
SF Fed's Yellen: US in recession
The US economy appears to be in recession as every major part of the economy has been hit by the financial shock, said Janet Yellen, the president of the San Francisco Federal Reserve.
Trichet: joint action sets precedent
Monday's decision to provide broad access to liquidity and unlimited dollar funding marked a "world premiere" in exceptionally-confident cooperation between central banks, Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the European Central Bank (ECB), has noted.
G7 plan "a major success": Riksbank's Ingves
The five-point plan agreed by the G7 finance minsters and central bank governors should help improve confidence in financial markets, said Stefan Ingves, the governor of the Riksbank.
Canada, Japan outline responses to G7 plan
Canada and Japan, the industrialised countries least affected by the current turmoil, on Tuesday announced their responses to the G7 plan.
Asian central banks act on liquidity shortages
Signs of heightening liquidity tensions in Asia emerged on Tuesday, with the Reserve Bank of India adding Rs20,000 crore ($4.16 billion) to its banking system and Bank Indonesia implementing measures to ease stress in foreign-currency markets. Bank…
HKMA steps up stability efforts
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) on Tuesday stepped up its efforts to enhance financial stability, issuing a blanket guarantee for customer deposits and offering to re-capitalise its banks.
Fannie, Freddie debt fears could have sparked run
Central bankers' fears over the collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac threatened to lead to sales of US agency debt, the scale of which could have sparked a run, the US regulator responsible for the two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) has said.
US offers $250bn in capital, markets shrug
Washington's unveiling of a $250 billion plan to recapitalise its banking sector did little to soothe equity-market sentiment on Tuesday, with gains at the opening bell proving short-lived.