News
US Nobel laureate praises China's monetary policy
CHINA - Nobel Laureate Robert Mundell has praised China's monetary policy as "excellent" in a recent interview.
Korea to export currency for world cup period
SOUTH KOREA - The Bank of Korea (BOK) today said that domestic lenders will export 50 billion won (US$37.82 million) worth of the country's money abroad to facilitate currency exchange for foreigners who will visit Korea during the FIFA World Cup period.
Israeli cabinet OKs diluting cen bank chief power
ISRAEL - Israel's cabinet on Sunday approved sweeping changes to the way interest rates are set but analysts said the plans, which include setting up a monetary council, would weaken the central bank and harm the economy.
The IMF-Feeding the rat
ARTICLE - An Article by Diwa C. Guinigundo, Alternate Executive Director, International Monetary Fund, Manila Standard, 28 February.
Interagency Guidance on Country Risk Management
LETTER - The Federal Reserve, along with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, have issued enhanced guidance concerning the elements of an effective country risk management process for banking…
Call for contributions from the ECB
PUBLICATION - Call for contributions from interested parties: Joint work of the European System of Central Banks and the Committee of European Securities Regulators in the field of clearing and settlement, 15 March.
Russian c bank raises gold purchase price by 5%
RUSSIA - The Central Bank of Russia has established a new procedure for calculating buy and sell quotes for refined gold, silver and platinum in bars for operations with credit institutions.
Irish c bank "seriously concerned" by AIB report
IRELAND - The Central Bank of Ireland said Thursday it is "seriously concerned" by what has emerged from the so-called Ludwig report into fraudulent trading activities at Allied Irish Banks PLC (U.ALB).
ECB start raising rates by autumn - Kiel institute
GERMANY - The Kiel Institute for the World Economy IfW, one of Germany's six leading economic research institutes, said on Thursday it expected the European Central Bank to start raising rates in autumn 2002 in response to strengthening euro zone…
IMF sees EU candidates joining euro earliest 2008
POLAND - The Internationl Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday that it would take European Union candidates as long as four years to join the euro zone after planned EU accession in 2004.
South Africa raises interest rates
SOUTH AFRICA - South Africa's Reserve Bank has raised interest rates by one percentage point to 11.5% to counter the inflationary impact of the rand's steep slide last year.
BoE's Clementi sees steady UK rates for some time
UK - British interest rates, on hold at a 38-year low of 4.0 percent since November, will probably stay unchanged for some time while the economy shakes off last year's downturn, a senior central bank official said on Thursday.
China's c bank in battle over payment settlement
CHINA - Credit-card companies are fighting for a slice of multi-billion-dollar revenues which could be earned by providing their international networks to settle transactions made on the mainland.
IMF warns of new bank regulator
INDONESIA - Creating a new financial regulator is by no means a simple task. And a new entity in the making shows the potential for dragging the banking sector through a detour in its road to recovery, according to one study by the International Monetary…
Ex-Turkmenistan banker accused of loan fraud
TURKMENISTAN - The top prosecutor's office has accused a former central-bank chief of embezzling $120 million in German and Swiss loans in one of this isolated nation's biggest corruption scandals since independence from the Soviet Union, according to…
No reason to bar Chinese bank offices
TAIWAN - The central bank doesn't have reasons not to allow mainland Chinese banks to set up representative offices in Taiwan, the Commercial Times reports, quoting Central Bank Governor Perng Fai-nan.
Czech Senate pass amended Banks Act, Payments Act
CZECH REPUBLIC - The Senate on Wednesday passed the amended Banks Act abolishing the possibility of anonymous deposits, among other things.
UK government extends Davies' term at FSA
UK - The UK government on Wednesday said it had extended the term of Sir Howard Davies as head of its chief financial regulator until January 2004, ending speculation that he may stand down to move to the Bank of England.
Some E Europe states may need longer in ERM2-Noyer
UK - European Central Bank vice-president Christian Noyer reiterated on Friday it could be desirable for some eastern European accession states to remain in the European exchange rate mechanism (ERM-II) for longer than the minimum requirement of two…
Duisenberg sees inflation below 2 pct in May
NETHERLANDS - European Central Bank President Wim Duisenberg said on Friday he expected euro zone inflation to fall below its two percent tolerance ceiling in May 2002.
Singapore, Hong Kong sign agreement on regulation
SINGAPORE - The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Friday with the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance of Hong Kong (OCI) for cooperation in regulation of the insurance industry.
Belarus bank chief dismisses currency union idea
BELARUS - Meeting deputies of the Belarusian National Assembly's House of Representative [lower house of parliament] today, the chairman of the National Bank of Belarus, Pyotr Prakapovich, said that the introduction of a single currency of the union…
IMF Press Briefing, 13 March
PRESS BRIEFING - Transcript of a Press Briefing by Thomas C. Dawson, Director, External Relations Department, International Monetary Fund, London, 13 March.
Sabirin verdict - Bank Indonesia suspect foul play
FEATURE - Sjahril Sabirin, the governor of Bank Indonesia, has been accused of corrupt practices; Bank Indonesia is suggesting that the courts are guilty of the same crime. The bank alleges that underhand methods are being used to ensure its governor's…