Central Banks
Qatar takes stake in Credit Suisse
The Qatar Investment Authority, a sovereign wealth fund, has bought a stake in Credit Suisse, Switzerland's second-largest bank.
Bank appoints new financial stability director
The Bank of England has promoted Andrew Haldane, the head of its systemic risk assessment division, to executive director for financial stability.
Ex-Fed's Poole: Treasury coercion may hinder plan
The US Treasury's decision to force some banks to participate in its plan to recapitalise America's banks could prove its undoing, warned Bill Poole, a former president of the St Louis Federal Reserve.
A credit risk model for all
Research from the Czech National Bank and the Bundesbank provides a template to investigate the credit risk environment of any economy.
Swiss step in to save biggest bank
The Swiss National Bank on Thursday agreed to buy up to $54 billion in troubled assets from UBS, after the country's government moved to re-capitalise the beleaguered bank.
Bank reforms money market operations
The Bank of England set out plans for three major reforms of its money market operations, including proposals for two new facilities aimed at alleviating the tensions that have kept prices for interbank loans well above historical norms.
ECB to loan Hungary up to €5 billion
The European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday granted the National Bank of Hungary a €5 billion ($6.8 billion) credit line following sharp declines in the forint and local stocks the day before.
Tokyo finally nominates deputy
The Japanese government has nominated Hirohide Yamaguchi for the role of deputy governor at the central bank, a position left vacant since March.
OTC derivatives central counterparty issue urgent
The Financial Stability Forum, a collection of central bankers and financial regulators, has urged market participants to swiftly establish a central counterparty for over-the-counter (OTC) credit derivatives, in its follow-up report on enhancing market…
Trichet: joint action sets precedent
Monday's decision to provide broad access to liquidity and unlimited dollar funding marked a "world premiere" in exceptionally-confident cooperation between central banks, Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the European Central Bank (ECB), has noted.
SF Fed's Yellen: US in recession
The US economy appears to be in recession as every major part of the economy has been hit by the financial shock, said Janet Yellen, the president of the San Francisco Federal Reserve.
MPC's Sentance: downturn risks on the rise
Severe stresses in the financial system and the news from the real economy have certainly increased the risks of a bigger and more sustained downturn, said Andrew Sentance, a member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee.
ECB makes bold attempt to break credit logjam
The European Central Bank's (ECB) latest action to unblock money markets, announced Wednesday, looks likely to succeed, economists say.
Iceland slashes rates as economy faces meltdown
The Central Bank of Iceland has cut its key rate by 350 basis points on the back of the meltdown in the country's banking sector.
India pledges more liquidity
The Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday took further steps to shore up liquidity, judging that the global turmoil warranted action.
Norges Bank cuts on signs of swift slowdown
Norges Bank on Wednesday lopped half a point off its key rate on signs real economic activity would slow at a faster rate and to a greater degree than predicted.
Fed picks Pimco to run commercial paper facility
The Federal Reserve has picked Pimco, a bond fund, to manage the assets of its Commercial Paper Funding Facility, which accepts unsecured debt notes direct from the issuer.
Russian reserve requirements cut to 0.5%
The Central Bank of Russia on Tuesday slashed its reserve requirements to 0.5%, a move which analysts say could add $2.7 billion-worth of liquidity into the system.
ECB's Bini Smaghi calls for regulatory overhaul
It is not sustainable to run different financial regulation and supervision policies, said Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, a member of the executive board of the European Central Bank.
FSA's Turner: we learned from Great Depression
We have learned from the Great Depression that in the face financial collapse, governments and central banks must take exceptional measures, said Adair Turner, the chairman of the UK's Financial Services Authority.
Financial integration in Asia
A recent collection of eight papers from the Bank of International Settlements focuses on regional financial integration in Asia.
US offers $250bn in capital, markets shrug
Washington's unveiling of a $250 billion plan to recapitalise its banking sector did little to soothe equity-market sentiment on Tuesday, with gains at the opening bell proving short-lived.
Fannie, Freddie debt fears could have sparked run
Central bankers' fears over the collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac threatened to lead to sales of US agency debt, the scale of which could have sparked a run, the US regulator responsible for the two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) has said.
HKMA steps up stability efforts
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) on Tuesday stepped up its efforts to enhance financial stability, issuing a blanket guarantee for customer deposits and offering to re-capitalise its banks.