Central Banking staff
Follow Central Banking
Articles by Central Banking staff
RBA's Lowe on the payments system
In the speech 'The evolution and regulation of the payments system' given on 14 March Philip Lowe of the Reserve Bank of Australia said the global shift towards electronic payments was being driven by advances in technology and the lower cost of…
Hannoun: Internationalisation of financial service
In the speech 'Internationalisation of financial services: implications and challenges for central banks' given on 4 March (published 13 March) Herve Hannoun of the BIS said there is a dual challenge for central banks in the context of financial…
Excess liquidity clinches case for ECB rate rises
According to this recent article, several factors, including a lack of dissenting voices on the ECB Governing Council, have persuaded financial markets in recent days that the ECB is heading faster than previously expected toward an interest rate of 3…
Chicago Fed's Moskow on the US economic outlook
In the speech 'U.S. economic outlook' given on 7 March Michael Moskow of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said U.S. interest rates are currently in a neutral range but more increases may be needed.
Market of foreign exchange hedge in Brazil
The IBMEC Economics Discussion Paper "The market of foreign exchange hedge in Brazil: Reactions of financial institutions to interventions of the central bank" says that between 1999 and 2002, Brazil's central bank sold expressive amounts of dollar…
Central Bank of Nicaragua - Annual Report 2000
According to the Central Bank of Nicaragua's Annual Report 2000, Nicaragua's economy was dominated by adverse external shocks during the year.
A dynamic model of central bank intervention
This January 2005 Working Paper from the Central Bank of Turkey examines central bank intervention in foreign exchange markets using a dynamic censored regression model.
Central Bank of Nigeria - Annual Report 2004
According to the Central Bank of Nigeria's Annual Report 2004, the performance of the external sector improved significantly as the overall balance of payments position swung from a deficit in 2003, to a surplus in 2004.
Comment: Balcerowicz battles on
The president of the National Bank of Poland (NBP), Leszek Balcerowicz, and the ministry of finance are at loggerhead over a hotly debated bank merger. The government wants the deal blocked, Balcerowicz refuses to do so. Even as his first term draws to…
Trichet praises BoJ's communication
The Bank of Japan's communication with financial markets was "very, very good," European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said Monday 13 March. He also said independence was of "extreme importance" for the National Bank of Poland.
BoJ's Mizuno says rate hikes necessary - report
Atsushi Mizuno, a Bank of Japan policy board member, has said that raising interest rates is necessary to have some flexibility in managing monetary policy, Jiji Press reported.
UAE considers reserves switch to euros
The United Arab Emirates is considering moving 10 percent of its foreign currency reserves out of U.S. dollars and into the euro, the Khalij Times reported Monday 13 March.
Monetary policy: a journey from theory to practice
The European Central Bank is holding a colloquium in honour of Otmar Issing in Frankfurt am Main, 16 - 17 March 2006. Contributors include Mervyn King, Donald Kohn, Lars Svensson and Allan Meltzer.
Riksbank to publish three Inflation Reports a year
At its meeting on Thursday 9 March the Executive Board of Sweden's Riksbank decided that in future three Inflation Reports would be published a year instead of the current four.
Preliminary report on security of banknote storage
Sir John Gieve, Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, on Friday 10 March delivered to Mervyn King, the Governor, his confidential preliminary report on the security of banknote storage.
Bank of Japan Monthly Report, March 2006
The Bank of Japan published the English version of its March 2006 monthly report on Monday. In the report the BOJ left its upbeat assessment of the country's economic situation unchanged for the second straight month.
Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin, Spring 2006
The Bank of England published its Quarterly Bulletin for Spring 2006 on Monday. This quarter, one article reports the key findings from a Bank-commissioned survey on the state of household finances.
Confidence in Rome won't be rebuilt in a day
While the Bank of Italy seemed to have become an autocracy under Antonio Fazio, according to this recent article, governance will have to be a priority for the new governor, Mario Draghi.
NY Fed's Geithner on U.S. monetary policy
In the speech 'U.S. monetary policy in the global financial environment' given on 9 March Timothy Geithner of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said U.S. monetary policy may need to be tightened sufficiently to offset the downward pull on interest…
Bank of Canada announces research award
The Bank of Canada announced on Friday 10 March that Professor Gregor Smith of Queen's University is the recipient of the Bank's Research Fellowship for 2006.
NBP chief defends decision over meeting
Leszek Balcerowicz, governor of the national bank of Poland, rejected accusations on Friday 10 march that he broke the law by excluding a government official from a regulatory meeting on Italian lender UniCredit's deal to buy Polish Bank BPH.
China considering expansion of HK yuan business
The Chinese government may allow Hong Kong companies to issue yuan-denominated bonds and settle trade transactions using the yuan, in order to expand yuan business in the city, Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China (PBoC) said, according…
Fukui: Zero rate policy can't last 'indefinitely'
Bank of Japan governor, Toshihiko Fukui, said on Friday 10 March that the central bank won't keep borrowing costs at zero forever.
Bundesbank's Weber on the role of interest rates
In the speech 'The role of interest rates in theory and practice - How useful is the concept of the natural real rate of interest for monetary policy?' given on 9 March Axel Weber of the Bundesbank said setting interest rates against a benchmark estimate…