Central Banks
Turkish governor explains September rate cut
Durmus Yilmaz, the governor of the Central Bank of Turkey, on Friday explained why the central bank decided to make a surprise rate cut in September.
Maintaining growth motivated cut - Fed's Kohn
A 50 basis point cut was necessary to keep the economy on a sustainable growth pace, said Donald Kohn, the vice chairman of the Federal Reserve.
Liquidity, liquidity, liquidity
David Longworth, a deputy governor at the Bank of Canada, discussed three concepts of liquidity in a speech given in Toronto on Wednesday.
Banks should lead in growth effort: Zambia CB head
Caleb Fundanga, the governor of the Reserve Bank of Zambia, urged the country's banking industry to invest more in order to spur economic growth and reduce poverty.
ECB holds rates, but "stands ready" for rise
The European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday decided to hold its benchmark rate at 4%.
Old Lady holds rates, relaxes reserve rules
The Bank of England's monetary policy committee on Thursday said it would keep its benchmark rate at 5.75%.
Barbados to give more power to central bank
The Central Bank of Barbados could be granted more independence if the country's parliament agrees to pass its latest Central Bank act. The island's authorities will also open a financial services regulator within months.
Nigeria hikes rates
The Central Bank of Nigeria said on Thursday it would raise its benchmark monetary policy rate by a full percentage point to 9%.
US needs global payments standards, says industry
Should the US adopt international standards in its domestic payment systems? Surprisingly, "yes" was the overwhelming answer at a packed Sibos, Nick Carver, editor of SPEED, writes from Boston.
Ex-BoE supervision head criticises FSA
According to Peter Cooke, a former head of banking supervision at the Bank of England, the Northern Rock crisis revealed the need for a proper "mechanism for crisis management", a greater official focus on liquidity rather than solvency and more…
CSDs sceptical of ECB's settlement plans
Clearstream and Euroclear, Europe's two largest central securities depositories, were sceptical that the European Central Bank's (ECB) plans to build a single settlement platform will deliver the benefits the central bankers promise, Central Bank News…
Bernanke schedule reveals markets' influence
Details of the diary of Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, show the extent to which Wall Street executives, along with money managers and cabinet officials, played a role in his policy about-turn on 17 August.
Banks struggle with SEPA set-up
More than half of banks will not be able to comply with the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) initiative, which comes into effect in January.
Czech CB appoints financial stability deputy
Jan Frait has joined the Czech National Bank as deputy executive director of the financial stability and economic research department at the central bank.
Serbia holds rates
The National Bank of Serbia decided on Monday to keep its key policy rate at 9.75%.
Albania's Fullani on maintaining stability
Ardian Fullani, the governor of the Bank of Albania, looked to reassure the country's economists and policymakers that the financial system would remain stable.
Interest rates and the economy: the best models
Analysis conducted by the Bank of Canada of six models looking at the relationship between the term structure of interest rates and the macroeconomy, found those following Diebold and Li's work performed the best.
SWIFT responds to privacy fears with new EU base
SWIFT will open a Europe-based global processing centre for payments as part of a response to allay concerns over data privacy raised after the United States asked for data on financial transactions by Europeans following the 9/11 attacks.
Contrasting views on Old Lady's role in crisis
Charles Goodhart and William Buiter, both former monetary policy committee members at the Bank of England and both now professors at the London School of Economics (LSE), had sharply differing opinions on how the Bank should have handled the recent…
Crisis reveals need for better EU oversight - IMF
A lack of regulatory integration is, in part, responsible for the severe impact of the US subprime crisis on financial markets in the eurozone, according to Michael Deppler, head of the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) European department.
We're not out of this yet - Greenspan
Despite a "creep back to normality" in the asset-backed commercial paper and inter-bank markets, Alan Greenspan, the former governor of the Federal Reserve, cautioned that the recent turmoil could have further repercussions.
SA's Mboweni on the importance of communication
The need for good communication to support an effective monetary policy regime has again been underlined by Tito Mboweni, the governor of the South African Reserve Bank.
OECD advises UK to cut rates
The UK should lower interest rates, the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has said.