News
Zeti reappointed Malaysia's cen bank chief: report
Reports on Sunday 11 May from ChannelNewsAsia said that Malaysia's central bank chief Zeti Akhtar Aziz has been reappointed for another three-year term. A spokesman said the King was pleased with Zeti's work in leading Bank Negara which has brought…
Solomon Island: pyramid fraud shuts cb and banks
The Solomon Islands has shut major banks including the central bank after threats were made by the organisers of a failed pyramid investment scheme to blow up the banks, says the Sydney Morning Herald
Mutebile wants full BOU independence
The governor of the central bank of Uganda is seeking more autonomy for the bank to protect it from political interference. Appearing before the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC), Mutebile called for an amendment to the BOU Statute, according to a…
Central bankers see ray of light in global economy
The world's leading central bankers, at a regular meeting at the BIS, shrugged off the recent surge in the euro as a recovery from weakness and said there were rays of light in the global economy, according to a report from Reuters.
Big German banks to pay dearly for Basel II - Buba
Bundesbank council member Edgar Meister has said large German companies will pay heavily under the new Basel II regime as they will have to set aside billions of euros in additional capital to buffer against surprise losses.
Qatar and Jordan central banks full IFSB members
The Islamic Financial Services Board has approved the applications of Qatar Central Bank and the Central Bank of Jordan to join the IFSB as full members.
Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee
The Federal Reserve on 8 May released the minutes of its FOMC meeting of 18 March. The minutes show policymakers were concerned that "part of the recent weakness" resulted from factors beyond the war and they were anxious that there "was as yet no…
ECB Press Conference
At the ECB's post meeting press conference on Thursday Wim Duisenberg said taking due account of new economic and monetary information as well as the latest geopolitical developments, we concluded that the current monetary policy stance remains…
French central bank employees demonstrate again
Bank of France employees went on strike again Thursday and demonstrated in Paris. The action concerned plans to close a number of the Bank's branches.
Iraq central bank appears unlooted
Contrary to many early reports it seems the central bank of Iraq's main vaults have escaped looting and still contain U-S dollars, Iraqi dinars, gold and items from the museum put there for safekeeping.
Tonga appoints woman as governor of central bank
Tonga has appointed a woman as head of the country's central bank. Siosi Cocker Mafi has worked at the Bank since 1993 and becomes the first woman to govern a central bank in the Pacific Islands.
Minutes show Fed had deflation worries in March
Policymakers expressed concern about deflation at the Federal Reserve's March meeting of the rate setting FOMC minutes released Thursday showed.
IMF sees need for Japan inflation target
A senior adviser at the IMF's research department said Friday that the Bank of Japan needs to create expectations that deflation can be beaten and should consider introducing an inflation targeting policy.
Wim Duisenberg gets award from Austrian president
Decoration for Dr. Willem F. Duisenberg, President of the European Central Bank from the President of Austria, 9 May 2003.
Bank of England Maintains Interest Rates at 3.75%
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee on Thursday voted to maintain the Bank's repo rate at 3.75%.
CBO tightens norms for appointment bank personnel
Under new rules banks will have to assess the suitability of candidates for senior positions such as CEO's under 'competence criteria' set by the central bank of Oman (CBO) before approaching the CBO for approval of the appointment.
ECB hold interest rates steady at Thursday meeting
At its 8 May meeting the Governing Council of the ECB decided to maintain the current level of interest rates for the eurozone.
Ecuador's Gutierrez withdraws bill from Congress
Four days after the president of Ecuador submitted a bill to Congress which aimed at reform of the central bank, the bill was withdrawn. President Gutierrez said the withdrawal aimed to "reformulate and enrich it with opinions from the Central Bank,…
Lebanon's Saidi: Banks need new e-finance systems
First vice-governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon, Nasser Saidi, said banks should aim to develop Arab regional payment networks and to integrate national payment networks.
Russia may allow central bank to issue bonds
Russia's finance ministry plans to present a draft resolution allowing the central bank to issue zero-coupon bonds.
Hungary may delay euro adoption until 2009 or 2010
Hungary's central bank chief has said the country will have to delay adoption of the euro until 2009 or 2010 if Hungary is not able to meet budget deficit targets.
Report says Bank of Canada broke contract rules
The Canadian Press reports that the Bank of Canada apparently broke its own financial rules over the awarding of contracts worth millions of dollars. Apparently the Bank twice hired consulting firms without getting competing bids and then paid them…
FATF cancels Philippine mission due to Sars fears
The Financial Action Task Force has cancelled a mission to the Philippines due to the threat posed by Sars.
ECB to aim for inflation 'close to 2%'
The ECB said Thursday that its Governing Council agreed that in the pursuit of price stability it will aim to maintain inflation rates close to 2% over the medium term. "This clarification underlines the ECB's commitment to provide a sufficient safety…