News
Hong Kong Financial Secretary meets ECB President
GERMANY - Hong Kong's Financial Secretary, Mr Antony Leung, held talks on 27 June with the President of the European Central Bank, Mr Willem Duisenberg.
Computer law to fight bank fraud
US - The House Financial Services Committee approved legislation on 27 June that encourages regulators to link computer systems to help crack down on financial fraud.
Fed set for fresh rate cut - but by how much?
US - The US central bank, the Federal Reserve, will announce today, 27 June, whether it has decided to cut interest rates further to boost the flagging American economy.
IMF appoints representative to Bulgaria
BULGARIA - Piritta Sorsa has been appointed as IMF's resident representative to Bulgaria.
New limited company for cash handling in Norway
NORWAY - Norges Bank, Den norske Bank ASA, Gjensidige Nor Sparebank, SpareBank 1 Gruppen AS, Terra-Gruppen AS, Fokus Bank ASA and Nordlandsbanken ASA have founded a joint limited company for cash handling.
Bank of France to cut jobs at banknote facilities
FRANCE - The Bank of France yesterday informed unions of 494 job cuts by 2005 in its banknote production units. The plan, aimed at bringing down the cost of banknote production to improve competitiveness, mainly affects facilities at Chamalieres and Vic…
London sees change in foreign central bank rep's
UK - The last year has seen big changes in the representation of foreign central bank's in London with nine new faces.
RBI introduces new scambusting agency
INDIA - The Reserve Bank of India is setting up an agency to specifically investigate scams in thefinancial sector. An RBI-constituted panel, headed by legal advisor to the central bank NL Mitra, at its last meeting held on 23 June in Mumbai gave the…
IMF seeks tougher Russian monetary policy
RUSSIA - The International Monetary Fund has called on Russia at the end of a five-day mission to tighten monetary policy to check inflation and keep closely to spending plans in its current budget.
ECB reluctant to promote euro's global role
GREECE - European Central Bank executive board member Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa said on 25 June that the ECB is unlikely to actively promote the international role of the single currency.
Blair meets Prodi to discuss euro
ARTICLE - Tony Blair, the UK Prime Minister, held an hour-long breakfast meeting on 25 June to discuss the single currency with Romano Prodi, president of the European Commission.
World Bank internet success
US - Nearly two thousand people have logged on to the World Bank's online conference on development economics.
Regulator unveils Japan bank stock buying fund
JAPAN - Japan's top financial regulator on 26 June unveiled plans for a fund to soak up massive amounts of shares owned by banks to cut their exposure to an uncertain stock market, giving Japan's economic reforms a nudge forward.
World Bank conference goes online
US - The World Bank is to host its annual conference on development economics on the internet on 25 June.
Long hols for Bank of England staff
UK - Following the introduction of a new terms and conditions package, staff at the Bank of England can now enjoy up to eight weeks annual leave. Staff at the Bank have always enjoyed generous benefits packages, however the many different schemes…
Bahrain grants licences to two financial houses
BAHRAIN - Bahrain has granted licences to two financial houses to operate from the Gulf Arab state, the Bahrain Monetary Agency (BMA), the island state's central bank, said on 25 June.
Putin signs federal banking law in Russia
RUSSIA - President Putin signed the Federal laws "on amendments to the law on banks and banking" and "on amendments to article N73 of the federal law on the Central Bank of Russia.
Monetary council member resigns in Hungary
HUNGARY - Professor Janos Kornai, one of Hungary's most prominent economists, has announced his resignation from his position on the monetary council of the National Bank of Hungary (MNB).
Macedonia bank has new model for market prognoses
MACEDONIA - The National Bank of Macedonia (NBM) has developed a new econometric model for macroeconomic prognoses and for simulation of some market movements to judge on their effect.
Basel II - Feedback to the Committee
The Basel Committee received over 230 comments on its January 2001 draft capital accord. All of these are posted on the Committee's website - we pick out some of hte notable comments.
India's central bank issues Net banking guidelines
INDIA - Only banks licensed in India and operating a domestic branch network will be allowed to offer Internet banking in the country, according to guidelines finalised last week by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Thai central bank calls meeting on forex rules
THAILAND - The Bank of Thailand (BOT) said on 21 June it would hold a meeting on Monday (25 June) with the Thai Bankers Association to seek members' views on streamlining reporting rules for non-residents trading the Thai baht.
Indonesia set on sacking central bank board
Indonesia - Indonesia on 21 June insisted on going ahead with the controversial sacking of the central bank board but was prepared to add to a revised law on Bank Indonesia (BI) to ensure its independence.
Sri Lanka modernises central bank with support
SRI LANKA - Sri Lanka will boost the effectiveness of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) with support from a US$30.3 million credit just announced by the World Bank. The Central Bank Strengthening Project provides resources and technical assistance to…