News
Dodd-Frank starts to bite as Obama signs bill into law
US President Barack Obama draws a line under year-long legislative process, hailing bill’s benefits to consumers; ratings agencies flustered by exposure to ‘expert liability’
ECB will always end up bailing out sovereigns: Buiter
Former Bank of England rate-setter Willem Buiter says ECB will lose in “game of chicken” with finance ministries over who rescues sovereigns
Hungary prepares bracing bank tax, wage caps
Hungarian parliament set to approve hefty bank levy to shear budget deficit; public sector wage freeze will affect central bank employees, despite ECB protests
Laos to liberalise cross-border transactions
Laos notifies IMF that it accepts plans to adopt measures that will end restrictions on international payments and transactions
US deposit insurance ceiling permanently raised to $250,000
Dodd-Frank law makes temporary $250,000 limit permanent; Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation says new law will apply retroactively
Tax increase creates dilemma for BoE policymakers
Bank of England hints at further stimulus despite signs inflation will remain high on the back of value added tax hikes
Faulty paper halts note production at De La Rue
Banknote printer De La Rue suspends production at its Hampshire plant owing to paper fault; shares plummet on company statement that 2010 production and sales will be affected
Sarb trumps investors in fight to amend law
South African parliamentary committee approves amendments proposed by central bank to protect it from shareholder attack; bill now expected to be signed into law
Price stability rightly remains sole focus of monetary policy: IMF
Fund directors say macroprudential measures, rather than monetary policy tools, should deliver financial stability; propose measures including dynamic provisioning framework
Swiss National Bank set to post half-year loss of $3.8 billion
SNB forecasts exchange-rate losses of more than Sfr14 billion on the back of the euro’s decline; gold gains and FX positions pare losses
BoE expands discount window collateral list
Bank of England to accept loans to individuals and businesses as collateral for discount window in order to provide more liquidity in times of stress
Estonia upgraded on euro accession; Ireland knocked down on banks’ weakness
Fitch lifts Estonian credit rating two notches, citing benefits of eurozone membership and strong fiscal performance; Moody’s downgrades Ireland on poor growth projections, worries over bad bank
Volcker philosophical on weakened rule, reform bill
Former Fed chairman Paul Volcker says failure to include dollar limit on banks’ positions in hedge funds “disappointing”, but accepts need for political compromise
Nigeria’s bad bank comes to life
Nigerian President signs bill approving creation of bad bank to take $10 billion in toxic loans off beleaguered banks’ balance sheets; agency to be up and running by end-September
HKMA unveils design of two new banknotes
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority says improved security features on new banknotes will reduce counterfeits in circulation
Euro counterfeits fall by 13%
ECB statistics show 387,000 forged euro banknotes recovered in first half of 2010; €50 note overtakes €20 as most popular bill to fake
HKMA, PBoC agree to expand renminbi business
New agreement will enable banks in the territory to establish renminbi accounts for financial institutions
East Asian, Pacific governors set for 15th annual meeting
Executives’ Meeting of East Asia and Pacific Central Banks gears up for 15th outing in Sydney; regional currency and financial stability issues to dominate agenda
Fed names new regional chairs
Washington-based board announces heads of 12 Federal Reserve banks for 2010; none from banks
Fed is the main winner from Dodd-Frank bill: Meyer
Former Federal Reserve governor Laurence Meyer says the central bank has gained powers it wanted and shed responsibilities it did not, despite initial anti-Fed sentiment among lawmakers
Yam joins China Investment Corporation
Former HKMA chief executive Joseph Yam appointed to sovereign wealth fund’s international advisory council
India approves new currency symbol
Indian government picks symbol for rupee after nationwide contest; says country’s growth and arrival on the international economic stage merit symbol
Irish central bank sees profits more than double
Central Bank of Ireland 2009 Annual Report shows profits rose past the $1 billion mark last year
FOMC faces tricky task in avoiding another bubble
FOMC officials’ pessimism about conditions highlights challenge central bank faces in fulfilling its dual mandate