Central Banking staff
Follow Central Banking
Articles by Central Banking staff
Philadelphia Fed's Santomero on regional equity
In the speech 'Advancing regional equity: The Second National Summit on Equitable Development, Social Justice, and Smart Growth' given on 23 May Anthony Santomero of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said rising real estate prices have helped…
OECD says US rates to rise, ECB must cut
U.S. interest rates will need to rise further to keep inflation pressures in check but the growth outlook for other major world economies is precarious and the euro zone needs a rapid rate cut, the OECD said on Tuesday 24 May in its semi-annual Economic…
Riksbank seeing weaker than expected economy
A deputy governor of Sweden's Riksbank, Kristina Persson, said Tuesday 24 May the central bank is seeing signs of somewhat weaker economic activity than it had previously expected.
Fed's Moskow promotes personal accounts
Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Michael Moskow said on Monday he favours the idea of "some kind of personal accounts" as a method of addressing the long-term funding issues facing Social Security.
Housing plan may not lift prices says BoE's Barker
A plan by the UK government to help up to 100,000 Britons buy their own homes may not push up house prices as the government is committed to increasing supply, Bank of England policymaker Kate Barker said on Tuesday 24 May.
Fiji's Narube warns of slower growth this year
Presenting the Reserve Bank of Fiji's quarterly report for March 2005, RBF governor Savenaca Narube warned that economic growth is expected to be lower this year, while the longer term trend will depend on export success.
Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey, May 2005
According to the firms surveyed for the Philadelphia Fed's Business Outlook Survey, May 2005, activity in the region's manufacturing sector continues to expand; however, indicators are down from last month's numbers.
ECB paper on central bank communication
The ECB Working Paper "Communication and decision-making by central bank committees: different strategies, same effectiveness?" published 23 May assesses the communication strategies of the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the European Central…
Fed's Bies on benefits & implementation of Basel 2
In the speech 'Financial stability benefits and implementation challenges of Basel II' given on 17 May Susan Bies of the Federal Reserve said in preparing for Basel II, supervisors realize that they must address their own capital needs--that is, human…
Bank of Japan Monthly Report, May 2005
The Bank of Japan published the English version of its May 2005 monthly report on 24 May. In the report the BOJ repeated that the domestic economy remains on a recovery track despite continuing weakness in the information technology sector.
ECB's Gonzalez-Paramo on inflation differentials
In the speech 'Inflation differentials in the euro area' given on 23 May Jose Manuel Gonzalez-Paramo of the ECB said lasting inflation differentials that are the product of misaligned national policies or structural inefficiencies may be damaging for the…
Issing: Govts must deal with growth differentials
European Central Bank chief economist Otmar Issing said in a speech Friday 20 May euro zone growth differentials must be dealt with by national economic policies rather than by the ECB's interest rate policy.
Trichet sees many euro members breaking pact rules
European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet said Monday 23 May many euro zone governments look set to return deficits above the stability and growth pact's limit of 3 pct of GDP this year.
Lacker says Fed may offer too many bank services
Richmond Federal Reserve Bank President Jeffrey Lacker said on Friday 20 May it was "hard to justify" the level of services the Fed provides for banks, particularly for clearing retail payments, such as check clearing.
Iraq central bank plans payment transfer system
Iraq's central bank plans to implement a new interbank payment system that will revolutionize the country's inefficient banking system by the end of this year, Governor Sinan al-Shabibi said in an interview Friday 20 May.
Kosovo to establish a central bank
Economy and Finance Minister Haki Shatri told KosovaLive website that UNMIK (UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo) and the government finally have agreed that Banking and Payment Authority of Kosova will become the Central Bank of Kosova.
Chicago Fed National Activity Index, Apr 2005
The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for April 2005 was +0.10, up from -0.04 in March. Two of the four broad categories of indicators that comprise the index-employment and consumption and housing-made positive contributions.
Fed's Greenspan on energy
In the speech 'Energy' given on 20 May Alan Greenspan of the Federal Reserve said a modest easing in oil demand in response to higher prices should keep inventories rising in the U.S. and elsewhere for some months.
Sweden's Nyberg on the Riksbank & inflation target
In the speech 'The Riksbank and the inflation target' given on 19 May Lars Nyberg of the Sveriges Riksbank said it is important to monitor whether the slackening tendencies seen in economic activity recently are temporary or more persistent.
Memorandum of understanding on financial crises
The banking supervisory authorities, the central banks and the Finance Ministries of the European Union (EU) have agreed on a Memorandum of Understanding on co-operation in financial crisis situations, 18 May.
Fed's Olson on Basel II
In the speech 'Basel II' given on 16 May Mark Olson of the Federal Reserve said U.S. regulators would delay further or seek to change Basel II international bank soundness rules because of an uneven response by banks to a dry run of the rules.
NRB governor elected to ACU president
The governor of the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), Bijaya Nath Bhattarai was elected president of the Asian Clearing Union (ACU) at its 34th annual meeting in Lahore this week.
Treasury envoy to press China on peg system
The US Treasury has appointed a special envoy on China who will have an enlarged mandate to engage China on its exchange rate, which has been pegged to the dollar for the past decade.
IBM transforms Bank of Korea's forex system
A major software giant has said it has completed the transformation of the Bank of Korea's foreign exchange asset management system for foreign exchange reserves.