Financial Stability
Notice from the Bank of Japan
NOTICE - The Bank of Japan has redesigned its web site, 3 December.
Argentina restrict amount of cash bank withdrawals
ARGENTINA - The Argentine government, desperate to stop a hemorrhaging of funds from the banking system, capped cash withdrawals from banks and limited the amount residents may transfer abroad.
BOE - Delivery/ payment system
UK - Bank of England Executive Director for Financial Market Operations, Ian Plenderleith, said Thursday the new delivery versus payment system for the settlement of securities trade in the U.K. was a success.
Banks deal with coin shortage in Australia
AUSTRALIA - Banks in some parts of Australia are experiencing coin shortages. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), which recently implemented a new coin distribution system, blames the shortfall on teething problems with the new system.
€ Euro - French police break up euro strike
FRANCE - French riot police have forced their way into the only mint in the country producing euro coins, after a 10-day strike by workers over pay and conditions.
€ Euro - Portugal rolls presses again
PORTUGAL - The euro has brought banknote printing back to Portugal for the first time in almost a century. Since the early 1900s, the work had been outsourced, largely to the UK, for reasons of economy of scale. But the Bank of Portugal decided that it…
€ Euro - Fears over Thai impostor
NETHERLANDS - The Dutch vending machine industry has raised the alarm about similarities between the new Euros 2 coin and 10 Thai baht, which has been discovered to fit in most machines being prepared for the arrival of the single currency.
Real-time payment system operational in Russia
RUSSIA - Natalia Kochetkova, director of the payment systems and clearance department of the Central Bank announced that the bank had put into operation a system for the processing of payments in real time in Moscow and the Moscow Region.
Row threatens Finland's euro launch
FINLAND - A row between banks and retailers in Finland is threatening to disrupt the launch euro notes and coins.
Minimum standards for securities settlement system
REPORT - Central banks and securities regulators release recommendations for securities settlement systems, 12 November.
Speech by Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India
SPEECH - Inaugural address by Shri Vepa Kamesam, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India at the Conference of CMDs of Public Sector Banks at IDRBT, Hyderabad on 2 November.
Security hole in cash machines
UK - A serious weakness has been discovered in the methods used by banks to protect the personal identification number (Pin) that lets you get money from a cash machine.
RBI to get real time gross settlement system, RTGS
INDIA - Logica India, the Indian subsidiary of UK-based computer services group Logica Plc, on Tuesday said it had been awarded a $16 million contract from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to implement a national real time gross settlement system (RTGS).
Litas banknotes well protected - experts
LITHUANIA - The Lithuanian national currency banknotes have more security features than the new E.U. currency, the euro, the central Bank of Lithuania said following visit by experts from the National Bank of Belgium.
European Parliament Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs. Euro change-over: MEPs demand bigger effort from banks and retailers, 7 November.
Credit card issuers to benefit from Fed rate cut
USA - Issuers of credit cards, hurt by concerns the weakening economy will ramp up charge-off rates, may get a respite from the latest round of interest rates cuts by the Federal Reserve.
Bank of France aims to maintain note printing
FRANCE - The Bank of France has "the firm intention of remaining an important player on the European money printing market", according to Michel Perdrix, managing director of the note printing unit at the French central bank.
Armenia central bank puts silver coins into system
ARMENIA - The Central Bank of Armenia has put into circulation 170 silver and 30 gilded coins with denomination of 100 AMD on 6 November 2001.
Bulgarian mint to be split from central bank
BULGARIA - The mint of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB), which prints Bulgarian levs, will be split from the BNB and transformed into a state-owned joint stock company as of 2002.
Kuwait's central bank upgrades its internet site
KUWAIT - Kuwait's Central Bank (CBK) has launched its upgraded Internet site, accessible at www.cbk.gov.kw, CBK Governor, Sheikh Salem Abdul Aziz al Sabah, said on 5 November 2001.
Error rate high with euro notes trial in France
FRANCE - Two months before euro notes and coins come into circulation, the financial community is concerned that cashiers in shops and banks will not be ready to use euros and detect fake notes from 1 January.
Testimony of Dolores Smith at the US House of Reps
TESTIMONY - Testimony of Dolores S. Smith, Director, Division of Consumer and Community Affairs before the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit of the Committee on Financial Services, U.S. House of Representatives, 1 November.
The future of online banking
ARTICLE - A letter published in the Financial Times London edition, 31 October, comments on a previous feature the paper reported on the outlook for online banking.
Fed's Smith - Rates dominate credit card pricing
US - The Federal Reserve's director of consumer affairs told a house panel Thursday that interest rates have come to dominate pricing practices for credit cards in recent years, although there is little systematic information about other aspects of card…