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Czech Senate pass amended Banks Act, Payments Act
CZECH REPUBLIC - The Senate on Wednesday passed the amended Banks Act abolishing the possibility of anonymous deposits, among other things.
No reason to bar Chinese bank offices
TAIWAN - The central bank doesn't have reasons not to allow mainland Chinese banks to set up representative offices in Taiwan, the Commercial Times reports, quoting Central Bank Governor Perng Fai-nan.
Ex-Turkmenistan banker accused of loan fraud
TURKMENISTAN - The top prosecutor's office has accused a former central-bank chief of embezzling $120 million in German and Swiss loans in one of this isolated nation's biggest corruption scandals since independence from the Soviet Union, according to…
IMF warns of new bank regulator
INDONESIA - Creating a new financial regulator is by no means a simple task. And a new entity in the making shows the potential for dragging the banking sector through a detour in its road to recovery, according to one study by the International Monetary…
China's c bank in battle over payment settlement
CHINA - Credit-card companies are fighting for a slice of multi-billion-dollar revenues which could be earned by providing their international networks to settle transactions made on the mainland.
History shows East Europe pitfalls on way to euro
FEATURE - Investors are already betting Eastern Europe's road to the euro will be remarkably short, but the history of European monetary union shows just how many hairpin bends and potholes still litter the way.
BoE's Clementi sees steady UK rates for some time
UK - British interest rates, on hold at a 38-year low of 4.0 percent since November, will probably stay unchanged for some time while the economy shakes off last year's downturn, a senior central bank official said on Thursday.
South Africa raises interest rates
SOUTH AFRICA - South Africa's Reserve Bank has raised interest rates by one percentage point to 11.5% to counter the inflationary impact of the rand's steep slide last year.
IMF sees EU candidates joining euro earliest 2008
POLAND - The Internationl Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday that it would take European Union candidates as long as four years to join the euro zone after planned EU accession in 2004.
ECB start raising rates by autumn - Kiel institute
GERMANY - The Kiel Institute for the World Economy IfW, one of Germany's six leading economic research institutes, said on Thursday it expected the European Central Bank to start raising rates in autumn 2002 in response to strengthening euro zone…
Irish c bank "seriously concerned" by AIB report
IRELAND - The Central Bank of Ireland said Thursday it is "seriously concerned" by what has emerged from the so-called Ludwig report into fraudulent trading activities at Allied Irish Banks PLC (U.ALB).
Russian c bank raises gold purchase price by 5%
RUSSIA - The Central Bank of Russia has established a new procedure for calculating buy and sell quotes for refined gold, silver and platinum in bars for operations with credit institutions.
Regulators and the gentle art of persuasion
LETTER - A letter published in the London edition of the Financial Times on Friday.
Speech by Wim Duisenberg, ECB President, 15 Mar
SPEECH - In the speech titled 'The introduction of the euro: a (critical) retrospect and a preview' Duisenberg said "we consider the current level of the key ECB interest rates appropriate to maintaining price stability over the medium term".
Call for contributions from the ECB
PUBLICATION - Call for contributions from interested parties: Joint work of the European System of Central Banks and the Committee of European Securities Regulators in the field of clearing and settlement, 15 March.
IMF Global Financial Stability Report, March 2002
REPORT - A Quarterly Report on Market Developments and Issues from the International Monetary Fund, March 2002.
Speech by David Clementi, Bank of England, 14 Mar
SPEECH - In the speech titled 'A Bank for all Regions: Promoting Monetary and Financial Stability in the United Kingdom' Clementi said that interest rates in the U.K. may stay around present levels for some time to come, given the current uncertain…
Interagency Guidance on Country Risk Management
LETTER - The Federal Reserve, along with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, have issued enhanced guidance concerning the elements of an effective country risk management process for banking…
Testimony of Fed Governor Mark Olson, 14 Mar
TESTIMONY - Federal Reserve Governor Mark Olson gave testimony on Thursday titled 'The Financial Services Regulatory Relief Act of 2002'. It was his first appearance before the subcommittee since becoming a member of the Board of Governors.
The IMF-Feeding the rat
ARTICLE - An Article by Diwa C. Guinigundo, Alternate Executive Director, International Monetary Fund, Manila Standard, 28 February.
Dallas Fed's Economic and Financial Review
RESEARCH - "Banking and Currency Crisis Recovery: Brazil's Turnaround of 1999" analyzes the Brazilian recovery, focusing on the freedom Brazilian bank health gave the central bank to pursue a postcrisis monetary policy.
Speech by Eugenio Domingo Solans, ECB, 9 Mar
SPEECH - In the speech titled 'European financial integration and the international role of the euro' Solans said that the credibility of the ECB's monetary policy is demonstrated by the euro zone's low inflation.
Hong Kong tightens markets regulations
HONG KONG - Hong Kong legislators yesterday passed into law long-awaited legislation aimed at significantly tightening regulation of the territory's capital markets.
Japanese hoarding gold as economic anxiety persist
FEATURE - While Japan has had the world's fastest-growing major stock market this year and the yen has jumped nearly 3 percent against the dollar in the last month, a small but growing number of Japanese investors are preparing for the worst and hoarding…