Central Banks
Latvian c bank says liquidity returning to normal
LATVIA - Latvia's central bank said on 8 August that interbank liquidity was returning to normal after a months' long squeeze and it was now able to offer more funds to the market.
Nigeria c bank weans banks off govt loan addiction
NIGERIA - The Nigerian central bank's drive to discourage commercial bank lending to regional and local governments should control money supply and inflation but at the expense of bank profits, bankers and analysts said.
Taiwan beefs up reserves
TAIWAN - Taiwan's foreign exchange reserves last month rose by US$983 million, month on month, to US$110.11 billion.
Lebanon c bank remains main supplier of dollars
LEBANON - Demand for U.S. dollars was limited in the Lebanese market this week, with the central bank the main supplier of the hard currency, dealers said.
ECB Working Paper Series, No 70
RESEARCH - Central Bank Forecasts of liquidity factors: Quality, publication and the control of the overnight rate, by Ulrich Bindseil, July 2001.
Infrastructure and Economic Development
SPEECH - Remarks by Federal Reserve Governor Edward Gramlich at the Texas Trade Corridors New Economy Conference, San Antonio, Texas on 3 August.
The securities activities of banks
SPEECH - Testimony of Governor Laurence Meyer, before the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit and the Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises of the Committee on Financial Services, U.S…
Argentina looks to $6bn IMF loan
ARGENTINA - Argentine officials are confident of winning support for a new loan of $6bn or more from the International Monetary Fund to help the country contain the crisis of confidence engulfing its economy.
Polish opposition party blasts central bank policy
POLAND - Poland's opposition social democrats, tipped to win general elections in September, blasted the central bank on 4 September for ignoring a slowing economy and mounting unemployment in its ambitious anti-inflation drive.
Bankers say no ATMs near casinos in border regions
THAILAND - The Thai Bankers' Association says that no members have automated teller machines or credit card approval terminals near or inside casinos located outside Thai territory along the Laotian and Cambodian borders.
Japan profits on yen interventions
JAPAN - The Japanese government has made a profit of about YEN 6,000bn ($49bn) on its foreign exchange reserves during the last decade, partly due to heavy bouts of intervention, a former Ministry of Finance official has said.
OECD recommends more power to banks regulator
CZECH REPUBLIC - The Czech Republic can best minimise risks to its banking sector by creating preconditions for a more effective functioning of the regulator, the Czech National Bank (CNB), says a recently published study by the OECD on the Czech economy.
UAE c bank plans personal credit rating agency
UAE - The Central Bank is understood to be working on a local credit rating agency (credit bureau) to carry out credit ratings on individuals seeking bank loans, according to informed sources.
Credit card use doubles in South Korea
SOUTH KOREA - Apparently boosted by a range of government measures encouraging the use of creditor cards, the daily use of credit cards almost doubled in the first half of this year from a year ago, the Bank of Korea said on 5 August.
Euro notes designer will escape launch controversy
AUSTRIA - When the euro enters circulation in January, the man responsible for the look of a the new notes is planning to take his family on a long holiday - outside Europe.
Bank charges given support by Australian study
AUSTRALIA - A study by Macquarie University claims that banks are justified in charging high service fees.
Uzbekistan eases foreign currency restrictions
UZBEKISTAN - Uzbekistan's Central Bank increased from 31 July the maximum amount of freely convertible currency that can be sold to Uzbek citizens travelling to countries outside the territory of the former Soviet Union to 400 dollars (from 300 dollars),…
Power of monetary policy is greatly exaggerated
ARTICLE - Greenspan's 10-year honeymoon is over - By Jack Carr, National Post, 1 August 2001.
E-day countdown - ECB ad campaign to roll 1 Sept
GERMANY - European Central Bank chiefs begin their annual break this week knowing that when they return from their holidays the push to make the euro a reality in the lives of millions of Europeans must begin in earnest.
Philippine Ctrl Bk mulls hiking liquidity reserves
PHILIPPINES - The Philippine Central Bank is considering hiking anew the liquidity reserve requirement of commercial banks to help boost the ailing peso.
Austrians 'underestimate' euro
AUSTRIA - According to a survey published on 3 August, the euro is not an issue for most Austrians. A majority of 62 per cent have not or almost not informed themselves on the new currency, only 13 per cent consider themselves as "very interested" in the…
Faster growth? If we want it
SPEECH - An address by Donald T. Brash, Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to the Catching the Knowledge Wave conference, Auckland, 2 August.
The Economy in Transition
SPEECH - Remarks by Jack Guynn, President and Chief Executive Officer, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Jackson Rotary Club, Jackson, Mississippi, 23 July.
Comments on the Economy and Monetary Policy
SPEECH - Remarks by J. Alfred Broaddus, Jr., President, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Washington Association of Money Managers, The Embassy Row Hotel, Washington, DC, 5 June.