Reserves
Argentine contagion has not spread far says IMF
ARGENTINA - Financial distress in Argentina and Turkey has failed to spread to emerging markets in general despite a bleak outlook for investors, according to the International Monetary Fund, reports the Financial Times, London, 9 August.
IMF corrects its estimate of Philippine reserves
PHILIPPINES - The International Monetary Fund has acknowledged that the Philippine central bank's gross international reserves position is stronger than the fund's initial estimate, the bank said.
IMF Quarterly Emerging Market Financing Report
REPORT - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) yesterday, 8 August, published on its website the latest Emerging Market Financing: Quarterly Report on Developments and Prospects, which covers the second quarter of 2001.
Manila's Arroyo not pushing for currency control
PHILIPPINES - Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said on 9 August she was not pushing for currency controls but added: "Never say never."
India c bank revises CRR rules for deposits
INDIA - The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has clarified that scheduled commercial banks, excluding regional rural banks, are exempt from the minimum cash reserve ratio (CRR) requirement of three percent on inter-bank term deposits/ term borrowing…
Argentina's int'l reserves fall another 2.2%
ARGENTINA - Argentina's international reserves fell by 2.2% between 1 August and 2, according to latest data issued by the country's central bank.
Latvian c bank says liquidity returning to normal
LATVIA - Latvia's central bank said on 8 August that interbank liquidity was returning to normal after a months' long squeeze and it was now able to offer more funds to the market.
Nigeria c bank weans banks off govt loan addiction
NIGERIA - The Nigerian central bank's drive to discourage commercial bank lending to regional and local governments should control money supply and inflation but at the expense of bank profits, bankers and analysts said.
Taiwan beefs up reserves
TAIWAN - Taiwan's foreign exchange reserves last month rose by US$983 million, month on month, to US$110.11 billion.
Lebanon c bank remains main supplier of dollars
LEBANON - Demand for U.S. dollars was limited in the Lebanese market this week, with the central bank the main supplier of the hard currency, dealers said.
ECB Working Paper Series, No 70
RESEARCH - Central Bank Forecasts of liquidity factors: Quality, publication and the control of the overnight rate, by Ulrich Bindseil, July 2001.
The securities activities of banks
SPEECH - Testimony of Governor Laurence Meyer, before the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit and the Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises of the Committee on Financial Services, U.S…
Japan profits on yen interventions
JAPAN - The Japanese government has made a profit of about YEN 6,000bn ($49bn) on its foreign exchange reserves during the last decade, partly due to heavy bouts of intervention, a former Ministry of Finance official has said.
OECD recommends more power to banks regulator
CZECH REPUBLIC - The Czech Republic can best minimise risks to its banking sector by creating preconditions for a more effective functioning of the regulator, the Czech National Bank (CNB), says a recently published study by the OECD on the Czech economy.
UAE c bank plans personal credit rating agency
UAE - The Central Bank is understood to be working on a local credit rating agency (credit bureau) to carry out credit ratings on individuals seeking bank loans, according to informed sources.
Uzbekistan eases foreign currency restrictions
UZBEKISTAN - Uzbekistan's Central Bank increased from 31 July the maximum amount of freely convertible currency that can be sold to Uzbek citizens travelling to countries outside the territory of the former Soviet Union to 400 dollars (from 300 dollars),…
Philippine Ctrl Bk mulls hiking liquidity reserves
PHILIPPINES - The Philippine Central Bank is considering hiking anew the liquidity reserve requirement of commercial banks to help boost the ailing peso.
New currency law not seen hurting Russian reserves
RUSSIA - The reduction in the amount of hard currency companies are obliged to exchange for roubles is not expected to have a major impact on the forex market nor prevent the central bank from building up it foreign currency reserves, dealers said on 31…
Singapore sets new liquidity levels for banks
SINGAPORE - The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today, 27 July, moved to introduce a new risk-based liquidity supervision system for banks, which will increase their flexibility to manage funds but may not immediately boost profits, analysts said.
Philippine c bank may cut reserve requirements
PHILIPPINES - Philippine Central bank Governor Rafael Buenaventura said today, 27 July, that as the economy picks up later in the year the liquidity reserve requirements of banks would be lowered to channel more funds into the economy.
Russian central bank says monetary base rose
RUSSIA - Monetary base rose to 614.1 billion rubles as of 23 July which is up 0.2% from 613.1 billion rubles as of 16 July, the Central Bank of Russia said in a report on 27 July.
ECB estimates new reserve target at 127 bn euros
GERMANY - The European Central Bank said on 27 June its estimated reserve requirement for the current maintenance period was 127.0 billion euros.
Big Chinese banks reduce bad loans increase profit
CHINA - China's four major state-run commercial banks have all reported strong profit for the first half of the year as they continued to reduce a heavy portfolio of bad loans, however their risk management skills are limited.
Philippine bank mulling reserve requirement hike
Philippines - The Philippine Central Bank is considering raising the liquidity reserve requirement of commercial banks, a move that could help damp speculative pressure building on the peso.