News
Indonesia's cb issues new banking regulations
Bank Indonesia is to issue eight new banking regulations on Tuesday 25 January, including relaxation of the legal lending limit and a guideline on the granting of credits to disaster-affected customers, central bank's governor Burhanuddin Abdullah said.
Inquiry into Central Bank of Iraq's missing $300m
US authorities are investigating why $US300 million in American bills was taken out of Iraq's Central Bank this month and flown to Lebanon, the American ambassador to Iraq said.
Central bankers shift funds from US to eurozone
Central banks are reducing their holdings of dollars in favour of the euro, according to a survey of 65 central banks published on Monday 24 January by Central Banking Publications.
Schroeder sees stability pact agreement in March
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and EU Council President Jean-Claude Juncker met Friday and expressed optimism that an agreement could be reached soon on reform of the stability and growth pact.
Da Afghanistan Bank appoints first deputy governor
At the proposal of the governor of Da Afghanistan Bank, the central bank, and following the approval by the president Hamed Karzai, Sameollah Ebrahimi has been appointed first deputy governor of the central bank, the BBC Monitoring Service reported…
New directors for Chicago Fed
Two new members of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's board of directors were announced on 10 January, as well as one new member of the bank's Detroit Branch board. In addition, the chairmen of both boards and the Seventh District representative to…
New website speculates on World Bank top job
A new website dedicated to airing speculation on who will succeed James Wolfensohn as the next president of the World Bank is offering the rumours and gossip on who is in the running to take the job.
Venezuela's Chavez nominates Parra as BCV chief
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias has proposed economist Gaston Parra as his choice for the presidency of the Venezuelan Central Bank (BCV).
Interview with Bank of Finland's Liikanen
In an interview published on Thursday 20 January, the Governor of the Bank of Finland, Erkki Liikanen, strongly defended the Stability and Growth Pact of the European Union. He expressed concern that financial discipline and budgetary restraint in the…
Fischer approved as Bank of Israel governor
Israel's state appointments committee approved the nomination of renowned American economist Stanley Fischer late on Tuesday 18 January as chief of Israel's central bank.
Hungary's Monetary Council elects deputy chairman
The National Bank of Hungary (MNB) has elected Henrik Auth as deputy chairman of its Monetary Council in order to conform with the changes to the Central Bank Act passed in December 2004.
Yushchenko's swearing in set for 23 Jan
Viktor Yushchenko, former governor of the National Bank of Ukraine, will be sworn in as Ukraine's president on Sunday 23 January, ending a two-month standoff over disputed election results.
BMA gets new governor after reshuffle
The king of Bahrain, Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, made a ministerial reshuffle this week which saw Bahrain Monetary Agency Governor Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, named Finance Minister on Saturday 15 January.
The ECB's new premises
Jean-Claude Trichet, the ECB president, unveiled the bank's final choice for its new building at a press conference on Thursday 20 January, saying it will not only come to symbolise Frankfurt and European unity, but develop into a "global icon".
Interview with ECB's Gonzalez-Paramo
In an interview published on Friday 21 January, ECB Executive Board member Jose Manuel Gonzalez-Paramo said the underlying Regulations of the Stability and Growth Pact should not be changed, but its implementation could be improved. Asked about the ECB's…
Greek, Turkish supervisors to exchange information
Greece's central bank said that it will sign a cooperation agreement with Turkey's Banking Regulatory and Supervisory Agency regarding the exchange of information.
Foreign central banks resume buying debt says Fed
Data released on Thursday 20 January by the Federal Reserve showed foreign central banks resumed buying US Treasuries in the latest week, but cut their agency holdings for a second week.
Takenaka says Japan 'no longer in post-bubble era'
Japan's economic and fiscal policy minister Heizo Takenaka said the world's second largest economy is "no longer in the post-bubble era," the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported.
IMF's Rajan: World economy to slow down this year
Raghuram Rajan, chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, said that 2004 was an excellent year for world growth in the last two-three decades but don't expect 2004 to be repeated in 2005.
ECB's Papademos sees improving growth
European Central Bank Vice President Lucas Papademos said in an interview on Thursday 20 January that economic growth will speed up this year and inflation will slow.
Interview with vice governor, Central Bank of Iran
In a recent interview Mohammed Jafar Mojarrad, vice-governor of Bank Markazi, Iran's central bank, spoke about the latest developments in the economy and the financial sector. He said there are two main challenges currently facing Iran: unemployment and…
Fed's Consumer Advisory Council appointments 2005
The Federal Reserve Board on Friday 7 January named eleven new members to its Consumer Advisory Council for three-year terms and designated a new Chair and Vice Chair of the Council for 2005.
Bank of Canada to upgrade $10 bank note
As part of its ongoing efforts to improve the security of Canadian bank notes, the Bank of Canada announced on Thursday 20 January that it will issue a $10 note with upgraded security features beginning 18 May 2005.
Luxembourg's Juncker says ECB wrong on pact
Luxembourg finance minister Jean-Claude Juncker, speaking as the euro group's president for the next two years, said the European Central Bank is wrong to say that reforming the EU's fiscal rules would harm the euro.