News
Russia c.bank drafts blueprint for banking reform
Russia's central bank has prepared new guidelines for banking sector reform aimed at bringing financial institutions in line with Western standards, a senior central banker said in an interview published on Feb 1, 2000. Central bank deputy chairman…
Ukraine c.bank reserves rise to three-year high
Ukraine's central bank said on Feb 1 its gross hard currency reserves rose to a three-year high of $1.718 billion on January 31, 2001, from $1.617 billion on December 22, 2001. Serhiy Yaremenko, head of the central bank currency regulation department,…
Taiwan cuts interest rates to record lows
Taiwan's central bank made a surprise cut in its two key interest rates by a quarter of a point on Feb 1, bringing them to record lows to boost the island's flagging economy. It cut the discount rate to 4.375 percent and the accommodation with collateral…
Philippine central bank cuts interest rates
The Central Bank of the Philippines has decided to slash its key rates by another 0.5 percentage points in a bid to maintain the differential between Philippine and foreign spreads and to prop up the economy. The move will bring down the central bank's…
Pakistan central bank raises paid-up capital limit
Pakistan's central bank has increased the paid-up capital requirement for investment banks to 500 million rupees from 200 million rupees, a central bank spokesman said on Feb 1. But he said the State Bank of Pakistan has given a two-year period to…
Indonesia court to proceed with c.bank gov trial
An Indonesian court on Feb. 1 decided to proceed with a graft trial against central bank governor Sjahril Sabirin, rejecting arguments that the court had no authority to try the case. "The Central Jakarta District Court has the authority to try Sjahril…
West Africa welcomes common monetary institute
The opening of the West African Monetary Institute (WAMI) is an onset of a credibility building process to create an acceptable common currency for member countries, local media reported on Feb. 1, 2001.
Goodhart: George should control inflation forecast
The governor of the Bank of England should take full control of the Inflation Report - the central bank's flagship economic forecast - to avoid confusion arising from the disparate input from the nine members of the Monetary Policy Committee, London…
US Federal Reserve cuts interests by 0.5%
The US central bank, the Federal Reserve, has cut interest rates by 0.5% to 5.5%. This is the second rate cut during January 2001, as Fed chairman Alan Greenspan seeks to stop the slowing US economy plunging into recession. The Fed took the markets by…
Irish cbank chief stays on for extra time
The governor of the Central Bank of Ireland, Mr Maurice O'Connell, is to remain in office for almost an extra year. Mr O'Connell, who was due to retire on April 30, 2001, having completed a seven year term, will now stay in his post until the end of…
Banco de Mexico might halt forex reserves buildup
A Banco de Mexico official said on Jan. 31, 2001, the central bank was weighing the cost of continuing to accumulate foreign exchange reserves and was considering halting its monthly auction of dollar options. "We've got to seriously consider if we want…
NY Fed extends triparty collateral for repos
The Federal Reserve on Jan. 31, 2001, extended for another year the use of agency debt and mortgage-backed securities as collateral, along with U.S. Treasuries, for repurchase agreements in daily open market operations. The Fed's policy-setting arm…
Kazakhs give details of new strategic oil fund
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev on Jan. 31 issued a decree setting out details of a special fund to make his resource-rich nation less exposed to changing prices for energy and commodities exports. The official Kazakhstanskaya Pravda newspaper said…
Bank of Mexico confirms 6.5% 2001 inflation target
The Bank of Mexico said on Jan. 31, 2001, it has now fully adopted an inflation-targeting regime and abandoned its previous system of managing monetary aggregates. However, the central bank will continue to use the money market "short" as its main policy…
Austrian gov't plans new financial market watchdog
Austrian Finance Minister Karl-Heinz Grasser submitted his plans for the creation of a new unified financial market regulatory authority to cabinet on Jan. 30. The proposed body will be responsible for supervising banks, insurers and the securities…
Cleveland Fed announce Advisory Council appointees
The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland on Jan 31 announced the following appointments to its main office and branch boards of directors and to the Federal Advisory Council. All appointments were effective January 1, 2001.
Fed meets, seen cutting rates sharply Jan. 31
The U.S. Federal Reserve began a two-day meeting on Jan. 30 amid widespread conviction it will cut interest rates by another half a percentage point to pump life into the world's largest economy.While the meeting started at 9 a.m. (1400 GMT) Jan. 30, an…
BOK head Chon hints at rate cuts in Feb. 2001
Chon Chol-whan, governor of the Bank of Korea (BOK), hinted on Jan. 29 that the central bank may slash the interest rate next month in a bid to bring the sliding economy to a halt. But, at the same time, he warned of "worrisome" high inflation for 2001,…
Stock market consolidation to help euro - Reynders
Belgian Finance Minister Didier Reynders said on Jan. 30 that "technical measures" were needed to stimulate foreign investor interest in the euro, singling out further stock market consolidation.Reynders said also that with the introduction of euro notes…
IMF OKs Colombia's 2001 economic program- fin min
The International Monetary Fund has approved Colombia's 2001 economic program, including a higher budget deficit goal of 2.8% of the gross domestic product, Finance Minister Juan Manuel Santos said Jan. 30, 2001. "The agreement basically consists of a…
Bush says will no longer comment on Fed
President George W. Bush said on Jan. 30, 2001, he had learned his lesson and will no longer comment on actions on short-term U.S. interest rates taken by the Federal Reserve. With the powerful central bank expected this week to cut borrowing costs by a…
Vacancies on the Court of the Bank of England
The following is a press release issue by the UK Treasury advertising vacancies in the Court of the Bank of England. The Court has a key role in reviewing the performance of the Monetary Policy Committee and managing the affairs of the Bank of England.
ECB-forex reserves almost unchanged at 260.9 bln
The European Central Bank said on Jan. 30, 2001, foreign currency reserves of the euro zone central banks in the week ending January 26 were "virtually unchanged," while its gold holdings were also unchanged. The net position of the ECB and euro zone…
Uganda's Mutebile warns speculators
The Governor, Bank of Uganda (BOU), Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile, has warned against speculation in the foreign exchange marke. He said BOU is going to take action against the practice, because it hurts the economy.