Reserves
Japan foreign reserves fall in Feb on weak euro
Japan's foreign reserves, the largest in the world, fell in Feb 2001 for the first time in six months, hit in part by a decline in the euro, a Finance Ministry (MOF) official said on Mar 7.
Central banks use GSE debt to adjust portfolio-BIS
Central banks appear to be increasingly using agency securities in lieu of Treasurys to make necessary adjustments to their portfolios, the Bank for International Settlements said in a report released on Mar 5, 2001.
Dollar-Korean won spot rates swayed by forwards
The dollar's movement against the won in the Seoul currency market is being increasingly affected by dollar-won trading on overseas non-deliverable forward (NDF) markets, the Bank of Korea said.
BI vows to prevent rupiah breaking 10000 level
Bank Indonesia will take action to protect the rupiah from breaking through the Rp 10,000 level against the U.S. dollar, the central bank's governor Sjahril Sabirin said on Mar 6.
Canada gold sale said part of established program
Canada's sale of 20,000 ounces of gold in Feb 2001 was made as part of an established program to sell all of the precious metal held by the central bank, a finance ministry official said on Mar 5, 2001.
Using credit risk models for regulatory capital
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has a highly topical article in its forthcoming Economic Policy Review called "Using Credit Risk Models for Regulatory Capital: Issues and Options," by Beverly J. Hirtle, Mark Levonian, Marc Saidenberg, Stefan Walter,…
BOK reports 1.5 trillion won in profits for 2000
The Bank of Korea has reported after-tax profits of 1,483 billion won in 2000, down 1,696 billion won from 1999.
Int'l Liquidity Illusion: Risks of Sterilization
Ricardo J. Caballero and Arvind Krishnamurthy from the National Bureau of Economic Research have written a paper "International Liquidity Illusion: On the Risks of Sterilization". This paper argues that sterlisation of capital inflows is ineffective when…
Did the Malaysian Capital Controls Work?-Kaplan
Ethan Kaplan and Dani Rodrik from the National Bureau of Economic Research have written an article "Did the Malaysian Capital Controls Work?" Compared to IMF programs, the authors find that the Malaysian policies produced faster economic recovery,…
Bank Indonesia meets Singapore MAS, banks
Bank Indonesia Deputy Governor Miranda Gultom met top bankers in Singapore on Feb 27, 2001 to discuss Jakarta's recent curbs on offshore trading of the rupiah.
Gold lease rates tighten further, spot adds gains
Gold was reversing a recent downward trend in Europe as it rose to fix on Feb 27, 2001 at the highest level since Jan 8, 2001 building on short-covering gains made overnight with more advances on the cards, traders said.
Colombian central bank profits jump 61 pct in 2000
Colombia's Central Bank made profits of 1.45 trillion pesos, or $642.6 million, in 2000, up 61 percent from 1999, mainly due to better performance on its foreign reserves.
Slovak exchange rate mechanism to change for EU
Slovakia has to change its exchange rate regime before joining the European Union, Slovak Finance Minister Brigita Schmoegnerova said on Feb 25.
'Risk Management in Diversified Banks'-Fed Cumming
In the latest issue of the New York Fed "Economic and Policy Review" there is a article on "The Challenges of Risk Management in Diversified Financial Companies," by Christine M. Cumming and Beverly J. Hirtle. Christine Cumming is the director of…
'Foreign Exchange Reserves Management'-John Nugee
The Centre for Central Banking Studies at the Bank of England has recently published a handbook on "Foreign Exchange Reserve Management" written by John Nugee who at the time was head of reserve management at the Bank. This is one of the few…
Belgian central bank issues loans warning to banks
The National Bank of Belgium used its annual report on Feb 20, 2001 to fire a warning shot to commercial banks about lending to high tech firms. The central bank, which is pitching to take on a greater role in banking supervision in Belgium, said banks…
Swiss SNB gold sales total 5.4 tons in 10 days
The Swiss National Bank said on Feb 20 its gold reserves fell by CHF77.6 million to CHF34.33 billion in the 10-day reporting period to Feb. 20, 2001.
Manila c.bank taps dlr reserves for maturing debts
The Philippines' central bank will use the country's dollar reserves to pay off debts worth $400 million due to mature this week, while it works out the terms of club loans, central bank governor Rafael Buenaventura said on Feb. 19, 2001. The Philippine…
Bush adviser-Sept G7 FX intervention mistake-paper
Lawrence Lindsey, the top economic adviser to U.S. President George Bush, was quoted on Feb 17 as saying intervention by G7 central banks last September to support the euro had been a mistake.The International Herald Tribune also quoted Lindsey as…
Grey Areas in Central Banking- HKMA's Joseph Yam
How far should the HKMA involve itself in two grey areas that are receiving an increasing amount of public attention: consumer protection in the banking industry, and the development of retail payment systems? Joseph Yam, chief executive of the Hong Kong…
Interview: Charles Goodhart
In a wide-ranging interview, Professor Charles Goodhart gives his views on the main challenges facing central banks today: output gap forecasting and productivity shifts, and the role of asset prices and the exchange rate in monetary policy. He also…
MAS to further open Sing $ swap market from Mar 1
The Monetary Authority of Singapore said on Feb 15, 2001 it will further open the Sing dollar swap market to offshore banks keen to engage in transactions with non-banks to boost liquidity in the wider bond market. Koh Yong Guan, managing director of the…
Belgium eyes central bank gold profit for pensions
Belgium's government plans to use profits from the past transfer of gold from its central bank to the European Central Bank to start a state pension fund it had hoped to fill with proceeds from the sale of mobile telephone licences, Belgian media…
Official Intervention in the Forex Mkt-Mark Taylor
"Official Intervention in the Foreign Exchange Market: Is It Effective, and, If So, How Does It Work?" is a new discussion paper by Mark P Taylor and Lucio Sarno published by the Centre for Economic and Policy Research. They look at the theory and…