Central Banks
Bangladesh Bank circulates new notes
Bangladesh Bank will print 1,155 million new notes by June, 2004 to help people replace torn and soiled notes, The Daily Star reported. People have been crowding the BB's exchange counter for the last couple of days to replace torn and soiled notes with…
Russia's gold reserves on hold
Central Bank of Russia deputy governor Oleg Vyugin was quoted as saying Russia has no plans to increase gold reserves at the moment. He said current conditions were not good for buying gold which is "substantially expensive" and lacks liquidity, Reuters…
PBOC to discuss Hong Kong yuan operations
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is holding meetings this week with officials from the People's Bank of China, Dow Jones reported. Officials from PBOC will discuss what operations Hong Kong's banks can conduct on the yuan from next year.
Italy wants ECB chiefs chosen by majority
Italy, the current holder of the EU presidency, has made a proposal to change the way top officials at the European Central Bank are appointed, Reuters said. A draft compromise circulated to EU member states said the ECB's six top officials should be…
France and Italy lead charge for EU pact change
French Finance Minister Francis Mer said Wednesday the EU should consider revising the stability and growth pact in 2005, Reuters said. While Italian Treasury undersecretary Gianluigi Magri commented "Pact 1 is finished with. We need to change the…
Interview with BNB's Tsvetan Manchev
In an extensive interview published by Capital weekly, the National Bank of Bulgaria's deputy governor Tsvetan Manchev said that the BNB plans to carry out vocational training of its staff in preparation to take an active part in the banking system of…
Does Greenspan deserve another term?
Posing the question, "Does Greenspan deserve another term?" Joseph Salerno, who teaches economics at Pace University, answers with a resounding NO! Not only had the Fed's performance been "outstandingly bad" during the Greenspan years, it says, but the…
Trichet's home sweet home
After stepping into Wim Duisenberg's shoes at the start of November as President of the European Central Bank, it now transpires that Jean-Claude Trichet has also moved into Duisenberg's old house.
IMF eyes replacement for Geithner
Speaking last Friday, 21 November, IMF chief Horst Koehler that said he would appoint Mark Allen to replace Tim Geithner, who is now President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, according to Reuters. If approved by the IMF's executive board Allen…
St Louis Fed to lose over 130 staff
President of the St Louis Fed, William Poole, has said that the bank plans to close its Louisville branch next year, according to The Courier Journa, with staff numbers of 140 reduced to less than ten. The branch will maintain a board of directors in…
Central bank finest go East
After retiring from the Bank of England Sir Edward George joined the boards of NM Rothschild, Grosvenor, the Duke of Westminster's property group and Swiss confectioner Nestle, swapping gold bars for chocolate bars in the process. But now Sir Eddie, and…
New Vice Governor at BEAC
The Bank of Central African States, the central bank for Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon has appointed Pacifique Issoibeka as its new Vice Governor. Issoibeka joined the BEAC in 1973.
MAS to carry out monetary policy review
Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong, said at the bank's staff seminar last week that the MAS would be undertaking a comprehensive review of how it conducts monetary policy to take into account structural changes in the…
BSP printing plant: More than just about money
This article in the Philippine Daily Inquirerlooks at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) bank note printing operations. The BSP owns the printing, minting and refining facility it calls the Security Plant Complex (SPC), an imposing structure…
Minister explains Slovenia's decision on EMU
Slovenian Finance Minister Dusan Mramor told a business conference that the decision to enter the European Exchange Rate Mechanism ERM II and the European Monetary Union (EMU) as soon as possible has been risky, but well thought through, according to the…
Central bankers: Smarter or better informed?
"I have always admired the unique role of central bankers. As we reflect from time to time upon reincarnation as a possible next step, I lean towards that option", writes OECD secretary-general, Donald J. Johnston in this article published by the OECD…
Bundesbank's Welteke on reforming Europe
In the speech 'Reforming Europe' given on 21 November, Ernst Welteke of the Deutsche Bundesbank said at present, low interest rates and ample liquidity are highly conducive to growth in the euro area. In the ECB Governing Council, Welteke stressed, we…