News
Philippines reveals extent of lending to IMF
Central Bank of the Philippines announces shift in relationship with International Monetary Fund; holdings from the country have been used to support Ireland, Portugal and Greece
Ukraine picks central banker as finance minister: reports
First deputy governor Yurii Kolobov becomes finance minister; local media reports unconfirmed by official sources
EU banking sector reform group finalised
EU commissioner reveals picks for expert group on banking reforms; governor of the Bank of Finland is chairman
Turkey agrees currency swap with China
Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey and People's Bank of China agree currency swap
Asean+3 safety net needs more firepower
The regional liquidity safety net in Asia created via the Chiang Mai Initiative is still small and needs a more aggressive pre-emptive mandate if it is to head off crises before they occur
Vietnam and San Francisco Fed reflect on banking seminar
State Bank of Vietnam deputy governor meets with delegation from Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco; group discusses recent seminar on monitoring and managing banks in Vietnam
HKMA’s Chan says fiscal cuts are essential for Europe
Hong Kong Monetary Authority chief executive Norman Chan says Europe must make deep fiscal cuts to regain market confidence. Talks about macro-prudential regulation, the Hong Kong dollar peg and the internationalisation of the renminbi
Bank of Jamaica governor offers growth and inflation predictions
Brian Wynter predicts growth and inflation levels for fiscal year 2011-12; says unaltered monetary policy stance in last quarter was due to uncertainty both abroad and domestically
BoE minutes show two votes for greater QE
Minutes of latest Bank of England monetary policy meeting reveal two rate-setters wanted to see greater quantitative easing than the £50 billion that was settled on
Mixed market response as Greece deal is proposed
Regional stock indexes show different impact as eurozone agrees on more bail-out funds for Greece; price of gold edged higher as euro rose after news broke
Madagascan central bank staff revolt: reports
Angry central bankers stage a sit-in at the Central Bank of Madagascar to protest over the abrupt replacement of former governor Frederic Rasamoely
Bank of Japan adds to Tankan survey pool
Japanese central bank refreshes companies and financial institutions that make up the sample group for the influential survey; adds 102 enterprises and five financial institutions
New Norwegian coin commemorates Royal birthdays
Norges Bank reveals a commemorative silver coin to celebrate the birthdays of King Harald and Queen Sonja; profits from sale will go to charities
RBA retains scope for monetary easing
Minutes of the latest Monetary Policy Board meeting at the Reserve Bank of Australia shows members believe inflation outlook provides scope for a further easing of policy if situation worsens
EU leaders present plan for growth
EU member state leaders issue joint statement on restoring growth to the economy; all eyes on finance ministers’ meeting in Brussels
China cuts reserve ratio again
People’s Bank of China knocks 50bp off the reserve requirement for the country’s largest banks; policy to remain “prudent” says central bank
Bank of Korea announces new policy board members: reports
Reports say Park Won-shik, a deputy governor at the Bank of Korea, is the first new member of the monetary policy board; several more to come
Central bankers attend Financial Action Task Force meeting
Central bankers from many of the 136 member countries of FATF share thoughts on combating money laundering
European Commission to propose regulation on CSDs
European Commission announces new rules targeting central securities depositories to be released in March; wants to ensure securities transactions are settled in a “safe and timely manner”
Australia set to formalise payment system mishap reporting
Reserve Bank of Australia announces intention to establish strict rules on informing the central bank of operational incidents in retail payments systems; launches consultation process
SNB bank council president will not stand for re-election
Bank council president Hansueli Raggenbass announces he will not stand for re-election at the end of his term of office
Riksbank governor awarded King's medal
Stefan Ingves becomes fifth Riksbank governor to be given the King’s Medal; honour awarded for “outstanding contributions in the financial sector”
Central Bank of Ireland announces joint fellowship with Bruegel
Irish central bank announces joint fellowship with think-tank Bruegel; experienced candidates sought for research project
Nazis “destroyed confidence” in BoE notes with expert counterfeits
MI5 report from 1945 says Nazis destroyed confidence in British banknotes; produced counterfeits of such high quality it was “impossible” for a lay person to tell them from the real thing