Financial Stability
China's Zhou promises rapid action if needed
Zhou Xiaochuan, the governor of the People's Bank of China, has pledged to act speedily and forcefully to prevent a slump in confidence during the financial crisis.
Inter-sectoral dependence key for stress tests
Bank stress tests should take into account inter-sectoral dependencies, finds a new paper from the Bundesbank.
AIG loan difficult and uncomfortable: Fed's Kohn
The Federal Reserve's rescue of American International Group has entailed very difficult and uncomfortable decisions for a central bank, Donald Kohn, the vice-chairman of the Fed, told Congress on Thursday.
ICE's CDS clearing plan gets Fed's approval
The Fed has accepted a bid by ICE Trust - an amalgam of an exchange operator, a provider of clearing services and eight banks - to run a central counterparty and clearing house for the global credit-default-swap (CDS) market.
UAE establishes crisis group
The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates said on Wednesday that it would set up a group to tackle the impact of the credit crisis on the seven states.
Nationalisation a possibility for one or two
Full nationalisation may prove necessary as a last resort for one or two of the larger United States banks, says a new paper from the Brookings Institution.
Unconstitutional Fed aid a threat to independence
The Federal Reserve risks incurring the wrath of Congress and limiting its independence with its credit policy, Jeffrey Lacker, the president of the Richmond Federal Reserve and a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee, has warned.
Stimulus won't work without stability: Bernanke
President Barack Obama's fiscal stimulus is unlikely to have the desired effect unless the financial system stabilises, Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, told lawmakers on Tuesday.
Fed forced to drop tough loan rules to save AIG
The Federal Reserve has had to relax the terms of its support to American International Group (AIG) in its latest bid to save the world's largest insurer.
Crisis predictable, mirrors previous episodes: BIS
Economists at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) have found that the current financial turmoil was, like other bouts of market stress, preceded by easily identifiable build ups in credit expansion and risk-taking.
Media inaccurate in portrayal of CEE's plight
Miroslav Singer, a vice governor at the Czech National Bank, tells CentralBankNews.com why the media's recent treatment of the problems in central and eastern Europe bears scant resemblance to the reality in some countries in the region.
Cut out the toxic assets: Fed's Rosengren
Banks' toxic assets urgently need to taken off their balance sheets, Eric Rosengren, the president of the Boston Federal Reserve, has said.
Austria's Nowotny assesses banks' health
Austrian banks have little exposure the American subprime market, but they have been indirectly affected by the credit crisis, Ewald Nowotny, the governor of the National Bank of Austria, has said.
Fed's TSLF fulfils its functions
Federal Reserve's Term Securities Lending Facility (TSLF) is effective in improving market liquidity, finds a new paper form the New York Federal Reserve.
Development banks pledge €24.5bn to east Europe
The World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the European Investment Bank on Friday agreed to lend up to €24.5 billion ($31 billion) to support banks in central and eastern Europe hit by the crisis.
Bulgaria takes counter-cyclical measures
The Bulgarian National Bank has taken counter-cyclical measures to support its domestic banks.
Reducing foreclosures essential - Fed's Duke
We need to strengthen and augment our efforts to reduce preventable foreclosures, said Elizabeth Duke, a governor at the Federal Reserve.
We must review our reliance on ratings: King
Central banks must rethink their reliance on credit ratings to assess financial products' suitability for open-market operations, Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England, has said.
Ex-Buba's Pohl sees euro threat
Karl Otto Pohl, a former president of the Bundesbank, has said that he believes countries are considering quitting the eurozone and that German politicians are concerned that they will end up shelling out for any member's debt defaults.
BoE's Tucker: end bickering over CDS clearing
Paul Tucker, the soon-to-be deputy governor responsible for financial stability at the Bank of England, has called on officials to stop feuding over plans to create a central counterparty for credit default swaps (CDS).
Washington talks down nationalisation
Some of the main players in the United States's plans to fix the financial sector have been playing down the likelihood of nationalisation in recent days.
Framework for defaults required - BoJ's Shirakawa
The framework to deal with troubled financial institutions needs to be better developed, said Masaaki Shirakawa, the governor of the Bank of Japan.
Crockett on lessons from history
Sir Andrew Crockett, a former general manager of the Bank for International Settlements now at JPMorgan, a bank, warns that officials must acknowledge the benefits of innovation and the inconsistencies between macro- and micro-level fixes.
Fed site looks to clarify balance-sheet growth
The Federal Reserve has launched a new section of its website to explain why its balance sheet has doubled since the beginning of the crisis.