People
Interview with Sultan Nasser al-Suwaidi of the UAE
Here we present extracts from an interview with Sultan Nasser al-Suwaidi, governor of the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates. Educated in the United States as an economist, he is highly regarded among global financial figures. The following…
Backstrom moves to life-insurance role
Former governor of the Sveriges Riksbank, Urban Backstrom, has been appointed president and chief executive officer of Skandia Liv. Backstrom said he would work to restore policyholders confidence and takes a fixed salary of 3.3 million kronor in the…
G7 and ECB Central Bankers' Salaries
This article published by Reuters looks in-depth at the salaries of G7 central bank heads, Federal Reserve Board Governors, ECB President, Vice-President and Executive Board Members. It reveals, among other things, that the Governor of the Bank of France…
Alan Greenspan, the central bankers' poor relation
A survey published by Reuters last week found Alan Greenspan to be the lowest paid G7 central bank head earning a mere US$ 171,900. Jean-Claude Trichet's salary, by contrast, rings in at the equivalent of US$ 341,404. But this is topped by "little"…
France's Noyer on banknotes' stretch
Christian Noyer has answered the question that was on everyone's lips: Just how far would the 15bn euro banknotes stretch if laid end-to-end?
Armenia ushers in new Deputy Governor
The National Assembly of Armenia has approved Artur Dzhavadyan as the new Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Armenia after he was proposed by the President. In what looks like a big vote of confidence, ArmInfo reported there were 86 votes in support…
ECB gets a queen for the day
The red carpet was rolled out last week in Frankfurt when Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands paid a visit to the European Central Bank.
Poetry - McTeer style
Dallas Fed President Bob McTeer is well known for his poetry and a recent article in the New York Post reminded us of a few of his classics, including this one. "There once was an economy on the ropes. It kept defying recovery hopes. When we finally made…
Ferguson and Bernanke back on Board
Roger Ferguson and Ben Bernanke got approval from the US Senate last Friday to new terms at the Fed, Reuters reports. Bernanke gets a full 14 year term on the Federal Reserve Board while Ferguson was cleared for four more years as the Fed's Vice Chairman.
Heads set to roll at troubled RBZ
Zimbabwe's Financial Gazette reports trouble brewing at the Reserve Bank. Not only does the country have a cash crisis, but the central bank is in turmoil with rumours that the government plans to bring experts in from Bank Negara Malaysia to sort things…
Kick off in Italy
Italy is famous for its football but the Financial Times reported kicks of a different kind last week. Governor of the Bank of Italy Antonio Fazio was said to have instructed one of his bodyguards to "kick him a bit so he goes away" referring to a…
Bikers and bankers
G20 central bankers meeting in Mexico were in for a shock when they arrived at their hotel to find most of the rooms had been taken by a group of bikers. Rows of Harley Davidsons greeted them and the Financial Times reported that the G20 bankers were…
Mervyn's smile
When the Bank of England's top brass was hauled in front of the Treasury Select Committee to explain their August Inflation Report, Mervyn King, the Bank's new governor, stole the show - although the committee did probe the voting habits of some of the…
Marchenko's prize
Grigori Marchenko, the unassuming but hugely competent governor of the National Bank of Kazakhstan, has received recognition for his instrumental role in turning his country into the most prosperous economy in the region by winning Euromoney's 2003…
Tips for Tito?
Following the recent to-do over South African Reserve Bank governor Tito Mboweni's swelling pay package, and the subsequent support he received from his opposite number in the finance ministry, Trevor Manuel, Mboweni might do well to take a leaf out of…
Rick's leadership rewarded at the Solomon Islands
One person it was good to see at the IMF meeting in Dubai was Rick Houenipwela, the universally popular and respected governor of the Central Bank of the Solomon Islands. There's another governor who has been through a lot recently.
Non, je ne regrette rien
It may be the eve of Wim Duisenberg's departure from the ECB, but if anyone was hoping for a token show of contrition from the stern Dutchman for his occasional indiscretions, they will have been sorely disappointed.
Sweden spurns the euro
Europe's unifiers have been profoundly shaken by Sweden's unambiguous decision to steer well clear of the euro for the time being. Both the Riksbank and the ECB have since publicly been at pains to clarify that the result of the referendum will have no…
Ill wind blows at Riksbank
On a rather breezier note, in August the Riksbank paid out over $100,000 in compensation to a disgruntled employee. 44-year-old computer technician Goran Andervass had fallen out with one of his colleagues after being "provoked by a disgusting fart - a…
What's goin' on?
Bank of England MPC member Stephen Nickell has just accomplished the rather unenviable task of explaining what the switch from an inflation target based on the RPIX index to the HICP index, as used in Europe, actually means. Inflation indexes: who cares?…
Governors in a fix
A number of governors are in a tight spot. In the Philippines, the Supreme Court has dismissed the criminal charges filed against governor Rafael Buenaventura - but it's not over yet. In Zimbabwe, the central bank remains without a governor, despite the…
Trichet lays down the gauntlet
Subjected to a grilling by its Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee in one of the seemingly infinite rooms of the European Parliament's nightmarishly labyrinthine buildings in Brussels on September 11, Jean-Claude Trichet gingerly and with consummate…
Mboweni takes flak...
The admirable Tito Mboweni, governor of the South African Reserve Bank, is under bombardment as fellow countrymen splutter at his recent pay rise. Mboweni has been accused of double standards for accepting a pay rise of 9% this year and 12% last year …
...but aims high
But Mboweni has received political support - which is valuable since, some say, he has his eyes on the presidency when current president Thabo Mbeki's term ends in 2009 (Mboweni's current term ends in 2004).