Financial Stability
Fedtalk from the Boston Fed, May 2002
PUBLICATION - Financial Services Update of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, May 2002. A newsletter about Boston Fed financial services, Fedtalk offers the latest information on check services and electronic delivery systems. The most recent edition,…
Pakistan State Bank directs banks to set up ATM's
PAKISTAN - State Bank of Pakistan has directed all the domestic banks either to establish at least two auto-cash telling machine (ATMs) or join the existing Switch Network to ensure payment of salaries to government employees through ATM system.
Minneapolis Fed Conferences and Events
CONFERENCES - The 17th Annual Electronic Payments Conference: "The e-Payments Revolution" will be held 17-18 September, 2002, at the Minneapolis Airport Marriott, Bloomington, Minn.
Hong Kong's credit card problems surge
HONG KONG - Credit card write-offs in Hong Kong surged to a record annualised rate of 13.63 per cent in the second quarter of this year, reflecting the slowdown in the local economy and a rise in personal bankruptcies.
Fed revises estimate on number and value of checks
US - Newly released numbers from the Federal Reserve System suggest that US check usage may have peaked in the 1990's and if so, that check writing in the U.S. may be steadily giving way to electronic forms of payment.
Iraq's central bank governor details new bank note
ARTICLE - Iraq's central bank Governor Dr Isam Rashid Huwaysh has explained the bank's decision to issue a 10,000-dinar banknote, in an interview with the Al-Rafidayn web site.
US bank gives away money at ATM
US - Road construction is such a pain at one of Nebraska's busiest intersections that a bank is giving away money for nothing as a special surprise to some customers.
Check-truncation talks today
US - Senate House Financial Services Committee staff are scheduled to meet today with bank and consumer groups to seek common ground on check-truncation legislation.
China's central bank defends ATM fees
CHINA - The central bank has defended a decision by commercial banks to charge customers for taking money out of automatic telling machines (ATMs) belonging to outlets that are not of the card issuers.
The IMF’s assessment of central bank internal controls
The IMF has found many central banks of borrowing countries to be lacking certain key elements needed for effective internal control. A report by Ahmad Sartip.
Central banks on the web: why are we there?
Central banks must go beyond the minimum of data provision if they are to build an image and address the growing demands of their diverse audience, argues Brent Eades of the Bank of Canada.
The Polish conflict
Stanislaw Gomulka surveys the institutional causes and economic consequences of the bitter dispute between the government and central bank in Poland. The inexperience of both suggests a European solution.
Behind the scenes in Basel
Neil Courtis ventures into the BIS in Basel and finds an institution in the process of redefining its role.
The Euro 50 Group Roundtable: Challenges of accession: Estonia
Märten Ross, a deputy governor at the Bank of Estonia, considers alternative scenarios for joining the euro. After ten years’ experience of a currency board, Estonia is more than prepared to join.
Why Britain should not join the euro
Janet Bush rejects the economic benefits of monetary union and argues that there is insurmountable opposition to the necessary complementary institution, a European government.
Sovereign bankruptcy: an opinion Jean-Jacques Rey
Jean-Jacques Rey welcomes Anne Krueger’s proposals for a sovereign debt restructuring mechanism. But is it a dead-end or promising avenue?
Interview: Mario Blejer
In January 2002 former IMF economist Mario Blejer became governor of the Banco Central de la Repœblica Argentina with the job of preventing Argentina from descending into financial anarchy. Two weeks after his resignation in late June he spoke to Central…
Electronic Payment Usage Grows- Chicago Fed Letter
PUBLICATION - The August 2002 issue of Chicago Fed Letter explores the recent growth of online person-to person payments, the problems and opportunities faced by payment providers and future opportunities for these payments.
Kuwait reports use of bank notes decreasing
ARTICLE - Over the past few years the demand for charge cards provided by Kuwaiti banks has increased, and has coincided with an enhancement of knowledge surrounding " plastic money", in an attempt to convert Kuwait into a society that depends largely on…
Euro banknotes fail test of time
GERMANY - Germans were among the swiftest of Europeans to detect that the euro was dangerous to their wealth. Now it seems the replacement to the mighty mark just does not cut it in the rough and tumble of everyday life.
Counterfeit bank notes on rise in Korea 1st half
SOUTH KOREA - The number of attempts to use forged bank notes increased considerably in the first half of the year, as counterfeiters have easier access to computer scanners and colour photocopiers.
Polish e-signature centre may break EU law
POLAND - The privileged position of Centrast accreditation centre and the high fees that the subsidiary of the central bank plans to charge may be against the rules set forth in an EU directive on the e-signature, released in 1999.
Iraqi central bank governor plans new note issue
IRAQ - The Iraqi News Agency asked Iraqi Central Bank (ICB) Governor Dr Issam Rashid Huwaysh several questions on the ICB's measures to minimize the problems citizens experience from the scarcity and destruction of banknotes which impedes the circulation…
'Fingerprint' card system test in Malaysia
MALAYSIA - MasterCard International is testing an antifraud system meant to detect counterfeit payment cards by reading the properties and orientation of the microscopic particles in a magnetic stripe.