News
S. African treasury and cb to co-ordinate policies
The South African treasury and the Reserve Bank have signed a memorandum of understanding to ensure there was no conflict between their different approaches to fiscal and monetary policies, Lesetja Kganyago, the new director-general of the treasury said…
EU Finance ministers urge OPEC action on oil price
French Finance Minister Nicolas Sarkozy says that eurozone finance ministers have agreed to coordinate any response to surging oil prices and want talks with oil producers to lead to an increase in output.
Report says Basel II will cost banks 20-30bn euros
Applying capital requirements under a new accord drafted by the Basel committee should cost European banks 20-30 billion euros between 2002 and 2006, a study prepared for the European Commission has estimated.
PBOC won't hike rates if economy grows
China will not raise interest rates as long as the nation's economy keeps growing, People's Bank of China Vice Governor Su Ning said at a symposium in Tokyo, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported.
BOJ's Muto says unclear when deflation will end
A Bank of Japan official said on Tuesday 1 June that it was unclear when deflation in Japan would end and that the central bank would maintain its quantitative easing policy for a "considerable time".
Fazio warns Italian government on spending
Speaking during the Bank of Italy's annual meeting on Monday 31 May, Antonio Fazio said that Italy is still capable of joining in with the world recovery but it has to change direction, initiating a clear, concrete and agreed economic policy.
Philippines may stay on FATF list
The Philippines may have to wait another year before it can be removed from the list of so-called "uncooperative" countries by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF,) Governor Rafael Buenaventura of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Monday 31 May.
Central Bank of Nigeria: From Sanusi to Soludo
This article published by Vanguard today, 28 May, looks at the leadership changeover at the Central Bank of Nigeria. Joseph Sanusi will step down as CBN governor on Saturday, 29 May, when Professor Charles Soludo will begin his own tenure. Sanusi's five…
DNB visitors play governor for a day
With summer fast approaching in Europe, visitors to the Netherlands central bank will get to play an interactive quiz game where they act as central bank governor for the day.
Central bank employees to strike in Israel
Bank of Israel employees are to begin a protest strike against Bank of Israel Governor David Klein and the Bank's Board of Directors, according to Maariv International.
CBBH appoints new vice governor
The Governor of the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Peter Nicholl, has appointed Anka Musa as Vice Governor of the CBBH and Ankica Kolobaric as Comptroller General of the CBBH.
Former Atlanta Fed President Forrestal dies at 72
The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta announced on Wednesday, 26 May, the death of former Atlanta Fed President and Chief Executive Officer Robert P. Forrestal who passed away at 72. Forrestal served as Atlanta Fed president from 1983 until 1995.
Solans set to leave ECB
ECB Executive Board Member Eugenio Domingo Solans, who in 2002 oversaw the debut of the euro notes and coins, will step down from his post on Monday, 31 May. He will be replaced by Spaniard Jose Manuel Gonzalez Paramo.
Former IMF chief elected German President
Former head of the International Monetary Fund, Horst Kohler, was narrowly elected Germany's new president last Sunday, 23 May.
Riksbank appoints new department heads
At its meeting on 19 May the Executive Board of the Sveriges Riksbank appointed Kai Barvell as new head of the Market Operations Department and Mats Galvenius as head of the new general secretariat.
BOE's Nickell sees further rate rises
Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee member Steve Nickell said in an interview with the Times newspaper that the bank's benchmark interest rate will need to rise further.
BOJ's Suda: Start planning exit policy
The Bank of Japan's Miyako Suda said this month that the BOJ should start planning an exit from its ultra-loose policy, according to a report of her speech.
Fed says foreign central banks buying more US debt
Foreign central banks continued to be net buyers of U.S. debt in the latest week, the Federal Reserve said on Thursday 27 May, taking their total holdings to another record high.
BoC's Kennedy says oil prices lifting inflation
In a speech on Thursday 27 May, Bank of Canada Deputy Governor Sheryl Kennedy said that higher oil prices and strong global demand are pushing Canada's inflation rate higher than was forecast in the April Monetary Policy Report.
BOJ reports loss for first time in 32 years
The Bank of Japan reported a current loss of 22.2 billion yen ($200 million) for the year ended March 31, as the yen's 13-percent gain against the dollar caused losses on foreign currency-denominated assets and bond prices fell.
Copom shows rate held to stall inflation
Brazils central bank decided to freeze its Selic base rate at 16% at its last Monetary Policy Committee (Copom) meeting in order to prevent short-term volatility from affecting inflation, minutes from the meeting showed.
New joint website De Nederlandsche Bank & PVK
A new joint website of De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) and the Pensions and Insurance Supervisory Authority for the Netherlands (PVK) has been created. Both organisations expect to be merged under the name of De Nederlandsche Bank.
ECB's Issing: Euro zone recovery set to continue
European Central Bank's chief economist Otmar Issing said on Thursday 27 May that economic recovery in the 12-country euro zone is set to continue and gather momentum this year.
No big short-term dollar shift says ECB's Wellink
The dollar is unlikely to show any big swings on the foreign exchange market soon as rapid growth allows the U.S. to finance its current account gap, European Central Bank Governing Council member Nout Wellink said in an interview on Thursday 27 May.