Financial Stability
INTERVIEW: Raghuram Rajan
Raghuram Rajan, a professor at the University of Chicago and a former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), talks to CentralBankNews.com about the future role of the Fund.
Kuwait enhances operations to restore liquidity
The Central Bank of Kuwait on Wednesday has launched new open-market operations in a fresh bid to shore up liquidity.
Paulson blames lack of time for Tarp u-turn
The US Treasury reneged on its earlier promise to buy banks' distressed assets because it ran out of time, Hank Paulson, the US treasury secretary told Congress on Tuesday.
IMF's Lipsky: fiscal stimulus required
Global fiscal stimulus of 2% of GDP is required in the current situation, said John Lipsky, the first deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund.
Fed's Hoenig wants rules for Wall Street failures
A clear set of rules for handling investment bank bankruptcies is needed, said Thomas Hoenig, the president of the Kansas City Federal Reserve.
INTERVIEW: Charles Wyplosz
Charles Wyplosz, a professor at the Graduate Institute, Geneva, and an occasional consultant to the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, tells CentralBankNews.com why the Fund cannot play a role in regulating the financial system, why the Paulson…
Remittances suffer in the wake of turmoil
Remittance flows to developing countries slowed in the third quarter of 2008 and are expected to slow further in 2009 due to the global financial crisis, a new report from the World Bank finds.
Israel's Banking System - Annual Survey 2007
In 2007, the net income of Israel's five major banking groups rose, despite losses on asset-backed securities, and capital-adequacy ratios reached a record-high of 11% by the end of the year, the Bank of Israel's annual survey of its domestic banking…
Washington restructures loan to save battered AIG
The Treasury is to take a $40 billion stake in American International Group (AIG), once the biggest insurance company in the world, as part of a restructuring of the firm's $122.8 billion Federal Reserve loan.
DSK calls on G20 to bolster IMF coffers
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has urged G20 leaders to discuss ways to boost the Fund's resources at this weekend's summit.
Integration and openness vital: Italy's Draghi
Confronting the challenges posed by the current crisis requires greater integration and market openness, said Mario Draghi, the governor of the Bank of Italy.
Eurozone banks clamp down on gloomy outlook
Eurozone banks are applying ever more-stringent conditions on the region's borrowers on fears of a worsening of economic activity.
Real and financial sector linked - Fed's Warsh
The US economy will recover sooner than expected if banks are willing to find new ways of lending, said Kevin Warsh, a governor at the Federal Reserve.
Dollar Libor spreads plummet to pre-Lehman levels
Money-market tensions showed further signs of easing on Wednesday, with the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) for three-month dollar loans plunging 20 basis points to 2.51%.
Policymakers added to volatility: Fed's Lacker
Shifts in expectations regarding the chances of official intervention may have made financial markets more volatile, said Jeffrey Lacker, the president of the Richmond Federal Reserve.
Bernanke: we must support mortgage securitisation
The government has a role in supporting mortgage securitisation during periods of high financial stress, said Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve.
Czech currency protects economy - CNB's Singer
The Czech koruna cossets the economy from financial turmoil elsewhere, said Miroslav Singer, a vice governor of the Czech National Bank.
IMF: crisis calls for new statistics
Understanding the crisis may require out-of-the-box thinking on data, said Adelheid Burgi-Schmelz, the new director of the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) statistics department.
Turkey's Yilmaz: FX liquidity support in place
The central bank put into effect measures to support foreign exchange liquidity in the domestic banking system, said Durmus Yilmaz, the governor of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey.
US: debit cards and electronic payments rising
Electronic methods of cheque clearing are rapidly replacing traditional paper methods, reports a new paper from the Federal Reserve Board.
Norges's Qvigstad - central banks are changing
Liquidity policy is now at the forefront of the monetary policy scene, said Jan Qvigstad, the deputy governor of the Norges Bank.
Banks' social role key to new rules: ex-FSA head
The revision of the social contract between banks and government should be central to the debate about how to legislate against future crises, Britain's former chief regulator has said.
Interbank rates improve
Beyond the gyrations of the stock markets, there were continued signs that conditions in the interbank markets were on the mend.
Fed hikes cheque processing costs by 41%
In a bid to encourage the move to electronic processing of cheques, the Federal Reserve will increase its charges for the processing of paper by 41% in 2009.