Central Banking staff
Follow Central Banking
Articles by Central Banking staff
Are there too many yes men on the MPC?
This article reports that the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee has remained significantly more consensual than their predecessors, with an average "maverick rating" of just under three compared with nearly five among previous members. This…
Brazil's Cavalheiro on regulation and Basel II
In a speech on 'Regulation of capital and financial stability' given on 12 July, Paulo Sergio Cavalheiro of the Central Bank of Brazil said supervisors still have a lot of work to be done in order to implement Basel II. The next steps include the…
Guan on Singapore's economy and financial sector
In a speech on 'Review of Singapore's economy and financial sector' given on 21 July, Koh Yong Guan of the Monetary Authority of Singapore said the MAS continues to be focused on supporting non-inflationary economic growth, developing the financial…
Fofana on Sierra Leone's post-conflict economy
In a speech on 'Managing Sierra Leone's post-conflict economy' given on 12 July, Mohamed Fofana of the Bank of Sierra Leone said that there is a need to ensure that West African countries stay the course in their commitment to achieve economic…
Nigeria's Soludo on consolidating banking industry
In a speech on 'Consolidating the Nigerian banking industry to meet the development challenges of the 21st century' given on 6 July, Charles Soludo of the Central Bank of Nigeria said the Central Bank will collaborate with other institutions - the NDIC,…
Fed expected to lift US interest rates
The Federal Reserve was expected to raise interest rates on Tuesday 10 August for the second time this year, despite weak US employment growth statistics.
Argentina to honour IMF debts
Argentina will honour its multi-billion dollar debts to the IMF to the end of the year despite an impasse in loan negotiations, Cabinet Chief Alberto Fernandez said Monday.
Fukui says BOJ watching oil price impact
Toshihiko Fukui told a news conference on Tuesday 10 August that the Bank of Japan is closely watching the impact of record high oil prices on the Japanese economy.
BOT says new rules must apply to all
A senior official at the Bank of Thailand (BOT) said on Monday the central bank would scrutinise the bad-loan situation at other banks and would not change the criteria of the probes.
Reddy says RBI caught unawares on inflation
The Reserve Bank of India governor YV Reddy admitted that the July inflation rate, which touched a three-year high of 7.51% in end-July, was higher than what the monetary policy in May '04 had visualised.
Chinese regulators tackle illegal capital flight
China's financial and securities watchdogs have launched a crackdown on the illegal flight of capital via offshore financing centers such as the British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands, state press reported.
Germany's Eichel : no more budget cuts yet
German Finance Minister Hans Eichel said on Sunday 8 August that the economic recovery was not yet firmly established enough for him to impose more budget cuts, and that he would make added savings only when growth was more sustained.
HP and CMA to deliver payment system to Montenegro
HP and CMA Small Systems AB announced on Friday 6 August that they will provide the Central Bank of Montenegro with a new automated inter-banking payment system, supporting Montenegro's economic momentum-building efforts.
CNB's Frait on convergence criteria
A paper 'Convergence Criteria - How Tight a Constraint under Inflation Targeting?' was presented on 23 June by Jan Frait of the Czech National Bank. The paper focuses on how tight a constraint are the convergence criteria for the conduct of inflation…
RBA Statement on Monetary Policy, August 2004
The Reserve Bank of Australia published its August 2004 Statement on Monetary Policy on 9 August. Economic developments over recent months point to continued good growth of the Australian economy. The global upswing has maintained its momentum since the…
Roi on banking in Mauritius
In a speech on 'Banking in Mauritius' given on 8 July, R Basant Roi of the Bank of Mauritius said banking, as we are all aware, involves risk. No banker, anywhere in the world, is absolutely certain that money lent out will be fully repaid in time. The…
Watanagase on the Thai financial sector
In a speech on 'Thai financial sector and the challenges ahead' given on 8 July, Tarisa Watanagase of the Bank of Thailand said that so far, the Thai financial system has shown signs of resilience with promising prospects for the future. But we will…
Bulwarks against chaos
The sixtieth anniversary of the Bretton Woods agreement has prompted comment in the media and provided a peg for a number of conferences. At least two of these were held last month in beautiful surroundings in Italy. The Editor of Central Banking journal…
Romania cuts interest rates 75 points
The Romanian central bank cut key interest rates by 75 basis points Friday to 19.25 percent, the central bank said.
Belgium may scrap small euro coins
Reports on Thursday said the Belgian government had agreed in principle with banks, business and consumer groups to scrap one and two euro coins.
RBNZ's Bollard defends rate rises
The governor of New Zealand's central bank, Alan Bollard, has defended lifting interest rates to the highest level in the developed world, citing pervasive capacity constraints and inflation pressures.
CNB's Racocha on payments systems
In the speech 'Payments systems and financial stability' given on 8 July Pavel Racocha of the Czech National Bank said the main and most real challenge connected with the payment system in the Czech Republic is EU accession. Legal changes have already…
Annual meetings of IMF and World Bank, 2-3 October
The Executive Boards of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group have decided that the Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors, along with related meetings and events, will take place in Washington, D.C. on October 2-3, 2004.
How did the Fed respond to the stock market?
The appropriate role for equity prices in monetary policy deliberations has been hotly debated for some time. In this Discussion Paper from the Boston Fed the authors show that after controlling for the information that actually enters the FOMC's…