Financial Stability
Markets rally on global bailout
Equity markets bounced on Monday on signs that coordinated action taken over the weekend had helped soothe investor sentiment.
Australia, NZ guarantee all deposits
Australia and New Zealand became the latest countries to guarantee all deposits over the weekend.
EU agrees to re-capitalise banks
European Union (EU) officials on Sunday agreed to follow Britain's lead in pledging to inject sufficient capital into the region's battered banks.
Why failed bank executives must go
Senior management of banks that require public assistance should be replaced, says Robert Pringle, the editor-in-chief of Central Banking journal.
Markets plunge, interbank rates rise despite cut
The unprecedented half-point coordinated rate cut by six of the most powerful central banks on Wednesday has done little to abate the panic in global equity and interbank markets.
Icelanders protest outside central bank
Icelanders have staged a protest outside the country's central bank reportedly calling for the resignation of the governor, David Oddsson.
Worldwide cuts are not enough
The coordinated cuts by six of the most powerful central banks could prove a useful step in improving market sentiment. But only if it is coupled with more action at both a national and international level, Avinash Persaud, the chairman of Intelligence…
Rosengren on aid to money market funds
Eric Rosengren, the president of the Boston Federal Reserve, argued that many assumptions about the financial system have proven to be seriously flawed.
Iceland nationalises biggest bank, halts trading
The Icelandic authorities on Thursday took control of Kaupthing, the country's biggest bank, and halted trading in all shares listed in Reykjavik.
Paulson hints at possible bank recapitalisation
Hank Paulson, the US Treasury secretary, has indicated that America is likely to attempt to recapitalise its ailing banks.
SNB's Hildebrand and Italy's Saccomanni on crisis
The crisis has shown central bankers and regulators rightly predicted that highly-leveraged institutions presented a threat to stability. But officials' attentions were directed at the wrong type of institution, admitted Philipp Hildebrand, a governor of…
Fed offers more support to world's biggest insurer
The Federal Reserve has loaned American International Group (AIG), the world's biggest insurer, an additional $37.8 billion, taking the size of beleaguered company's borrowing facility with the central bank up to $122.8 billion.
Bernanke on economic and financial conditions
Ben Bernanke, the chairman for the Federal Reserve, set out the reasoning behind policies towards Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers, AIG as well as the Treasury bailout in a speech to the National Association for Business Economics.
Britain bails out banks
The British authorities on Wednesday pledged to spend up to £50 billion ($86 billion) in taxpayer funds to recapitalise its beleaguered banking industry, shares in which have plummeted in recent days.
Spain sets up €50 billion rescue fund
Madrid on Tuesday said it would establish a rescue fund to buy high-quality assets from its banking industry, hampered by a downturn in the country's housing market and the global turmoil.
Riksbank pumps Skr5 billion into Icelandic bank
The Riksbank on Wednesday agreed to prop up Kaupthing, Iceland's largest lender, with a Skr5 billion ($700m) loan, on fears the bank's liquidity problems threatened the stability of the Swedish financial system.
Without proper incentives we are doomed
The financial system cannot survive in anything like its present form if bankers continue to make profits and taxpayers assume the losses. Yet that is the trend, certainly in the United States with its ill-advised Paulson bailout, and increasingly in…
IMF's Lipsky: regulatory change needed
All systemic US financial intermediaries should be put under one single regulator, said John Lipsky, the first deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund.
IMF wants global action, warns of risk of meltdown
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged policymakers around the world to step up efforts to tackle the rapid deterioration of the global financial system.
Fed to accept commercial paper for funds
The Federal Reserve on Tuesday adopted a new strategy to placate financial market tensions, saying that it would swap funds for unsecured commercial paper direct from the issuer.
Central banks pledge more dollars
Central banks around the world unveiled a fresh round of dollar auctions on Tuesday, aimed at tiding the banking system over the year-end period when money-market tensions tend to heighten.
Iceland nationalises second-largest bank
The crisis in the Icelandic financial system deepened on Tuesday as the authorities took control of Landsbanki, the country's second-largest lender, and pegged the ailing krona to the euro.
Global stock markets plunge on banking fears
The Dow Jones average of shares listed in New York sank below 10,000 for the first time since 2004 as equities markets around the world plunged on signs that troubles in the global banking system had further intensified over the weekend.
Iceland suspends bank shares, offers guarantee
Iceland has halted trading on stocks in its beleaguered banks and guaranteed all customer deposits in a bid to stop a raft of selling on signs the country's banking system is near to collapse.