Reserves
Korea's foreign ex reserves over $116 billion
KOREA - The Bank of Korea said Saturday the nation's foreign exchange reserves as of the end of October amounted to $116.9 billion, up $305 million from the end of the preceding month.
World Gold Council welcomes Shanghai gold trading
CHINA - The World Gold Council has welcomed the successful launch this week of trading in physical gold on the new Shanghai Gold Exchange. Trading started on Wednesday, October 30, and in the three days since more than 790 kilos of gold bullion has…
Importance of risk management stressed
ARTICLE - The risk management in Islamic banking is vital in the rapidly growing segment of the global economic industry, Mahnaz Bahrami, the senior economist for research and policy at the Central Bank of Iran, has said.
Argentina: World Bank extends loan deadline
ARGENTINA - World Bank President James Wolfensohn said the due date for a debt payment to the World Bank has been pushed back to 14 Nov from 9 Nov, Argentine Economy Minister Roberto Lavagna said in a Sunday newspaper interview.
MAS Guidelines on Sound Risk Management Practice
REPORT - On 30 October the Monetary Authority of Singapore published its Guidelines on Sound Risk Management Practices. This set of guidelines aims to provide banks, merchant banks, finance companies and insurance companies (referred to collectively as …
Santomero on Process & Progress in Risk Management
SPEECH - In the speech 'Process & Progress in Risk Management' made on 28 October, Anthony Santomero of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said the financial sector has come a long way in its risk management efforts. Basel II offers an unusual…
China's first gold exchange opens for trade
ARTICLE - The opening of China's first gold exchange on Wednesday in Shanghai signals the end of 50-plus years of government monopoly over the gold market.
Argentina: IMF deal mooted for Friday
ARGENTINA - A deal between Argentina and the IMF rescheduling US$14bn falling due to the multilateral agencies between now and the end of next year could be announced as soon as Friday of this week, according to a number of sources in Buenos Aires.
Swiss-'Give central bank gold reserves to schools'
SWITZERLAND - Non-governmental groups in Switzerland have called for more funds to boost schools and research. They even make the audacious suggestion that Swiss National Bank reserves could be used as part of these funds.
Malaysian gov't presses ahead on use of gold dinar
MALAYSIA - The government will set up a secretariat to study and promote the use of the gold dinar as currency for international trade if the cabinet agrees, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today.
Afghanistan new notes switch going well
ARTICLE - New currency is circulating in Afghanistan as the process of changing money is carried out by the interim government.
Risk Measurement and Systemic Risk
REPORT - A collection of papers that were either presented or are based on presentations at the Third Joint Central Bank Research Conference on Risk Measurement and Systemic Risk, which took place in Basel on 7 and 8 March 2002 at the Bank for…
ECB takes authority over foreign currency reserves
GERMANY - The European Central Bank (ECB) confirmed Monday, the Irish Times reported, that it must give permission before any euro-zone state can raid its own foreign currency reserves to ease domestic borrowing requirements.
Complexity will not cut banks' risk
LETTER - Letter published in the Financial Times, UK edition, 21 October.
Vietnam postpones inaugural global bond issue
VIETNAM - Communist Vietnam has postponed its first-ever global bond issue until next year at the earliest, a senior central bank official said Monday.
Fed chief hits at intervention on sovereign debt
US - William McDonough, president of the New York Federal Reserve, yesterday broke ranks with other policymakers in the leading industrialised countries, expressing strong reservations about their drive to intervene between bankrupt governments and…
Russian c bank - For ex reserves growth too fast
RUSSIA - Russian Central Bank President Sergey Ignatyev has said that the country's gold and foreign exchange reserves are now close to a level that meets all conceivable criteria. He was speaking at a full-scale meeting of the State Duma (lower house)…
Iran sees large inflow of gold and capital
IRAN - Iran has experienced a net inflow of capital and gold bullion for the first time since the 1979 Islamic revolution. It has been drawn by domestic investment opportunities and driven by financial insecurity outside the country following the…
BIS Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - Asia/Pacific nations declare that quick disposal of non-performing loans is vital for strengthening financial systems, 14 October 2002.
Duisenberg on the integration of financial markets
SPEECH - In a speech titled 'The integration of Europe's financial markets' Duisenberg said that after the successful introduction of the euro progress in financial integration took place with the safe establishment of the unified unsecured money market…
Takenaka calls on BoJ to help fight deflation
JAPAN - Heizo Takenaka, Japan's economy minister and the new head of the Financial Services Agency, on Wednesday called on the Bank of Japan to co-operate with the government on tackling deflation.
Speech by Susan Schmidt Bies of the Fed, 8 Oct
SPEECH - In the speech titled 'Corporate Governance and Risk Management' Bies said firms of all sizes should continue to pursue strategies to manage risk. Following sound risk management, governance, and disclosure practices consistently is also crucial…
Balkans pact on division of gold
YUGOSLAVIA - Yugoslavia and four former Yugoslav republics have agreed to divide $87m (£55m) worth of gold left over from the Yugoslav federation, a Bosnian government spokesman said yesterday.
Brazil c bank imposes stricter equity requirements
BRAZIL - Brazil's central bank has raised the equity requirement for banks holding US dollars, in a bid to halt the local currency's slide against the dollar, Brazilian central bank regulations director Sergio Darcy was quoted as saying by local press.