News
Sri Lanka seeks return of money offered at Indian shrines
Sri Lankan central bank seeks to repatriate estimated 20 tonnes of coins offered as part of religious worship in India
Tanzania hits financial inclusion target early due to mobile surge
Benno Ndulu says the number of adults with access to financial services has doubled in five years; describes mobile phones as ‘critical link’ between the unbanked and the formal system
UK parliamentary report calls currency union with independent Scotland a ‘dead parrot'
There will be ‘no currency union of any kind - no ifs, no buts, no fudges, no deals', says chair of Scottish Affairs committee
SNB strikes deal to invest in Chinese bond market
Thomas Jordan and Zhou Xiaochuan establish new swap line in deal, which also permits the SNB to invest up to $2.4 billion in renminbi-denominated assets
People: Emefiele to chair key WAMZ committee; BIS appoints chief rep for Americas
Godwin Emefiele elected as chairman of the West African Monetary Zone’s committee of governors; Spanish economist Enrique Alberola Ila takes BIS post; more
Euro banknote counterfeiting rises 4.4% year-on-year
‘Europa’ series will not address forgery problem until 2015; Eurosystem central banks urge consumers to ‘look, feel and tilt’ notes to look out for counterfeits
UAE central bank to put Braille on banknotes
Emirati authority joins Hong Kong in using feature rejected by the Bank of England and Bank of Canada, on the basis that not all blind people read Braille
Iceland governor included in three-man shortlist to replace him
Sitting governor Mar Guðmundsson is one of three deemed ‘very well qualified' to take the next term as head of the central bank
Former SEC chair urges US to accept use of NGAs for overseas swaps
Recent focus on US banks' use of non-guaranteed affiliates risks taking regulators down a slippery slope - issue could be tackled via disclosure instead, argues ex-SEC chair Harvey Pitt
South Sudan to East African Community: ‘do not reject us’
East African Community sends 'high level technical mission' to South Sudan in first step of a accession process which it expects will be 'tedious'
Riksbank minutes reveal dispute over IMF and BIS advice
Top Swedish central bankers debate the relevance of IMF and BIS advice for monetary policy to fight financial instability; question value of input from officials that do not set policy themselves
Chiang Mai Initiative doubled in size to $240 billion
Financial safety net for China, Japan, Korea and the Asean nations doubled in size; Bill Allen describes the initiative as 'ornamental' as it has never actually been used
ECB sets out plans for disclosing comprehensive assessment results
European Central Bank on course to publish findings from its asset quality review and stress tests in late October; reveals the template it will use for disclosing the results
Yellen tells Congress Fed is ‘most transparent in the world'
Fed chair Janet Yellen faces Congressman who wants to enforce rules-based monetary policy, telling him it would compromise central bank independence
ECB sees no clear rival to US dollar as global currency
ECB article says a ‘multi-polar’ system with ‘several international currencies playing consequential roles’ is a more likely outcome than an out-and-out replacement for the dollar
Brics nations launch development bank and reserve fund
Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa launch new institutions to fill the gaps left by the World Bank and IMF; Observers see challenges ahead
Bulgaria turns to the ECB in wake of bank failures
Collapse of Corporate Commercial Bank revealed extent of supervisory shortcomings that IMF warned of 15 years ago; Bulgaria now wants to join ECB's Single Supervisory Mechanism
Fed official reiterates forex options clearing guidelines
Lawrence Sweet highlights industry discussions around forex options clearing as key component of a private sector solution
Yellen endorses calls for ‘community banker' on Fed board
Fed chair Janet Yellen says legislating to earmark seats on the board would be a mistake, but agrees the board would be improved by the addition of a community banker
Israel governor Flug appoints new chief of staff
Daniel Hahiashvili appointed as chief of staff to the governor today; incumbent Eddy Azoulay moves to represent Israel at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Carney tells parliament BIS report was 'made in a vacuum'; Kohn defends leverage ratio plans
Donald Kohn argues the case for a time-varying leverage ratio at parliamentary hearing; Carney and Bailey question practical application of BIS annual report
FSB seeks consultation on FX benchmark review
Group chaired by Guy Debelle of the Reserve Bank of Australia and Paul Fisher of the Bank of England will report back to November's G-20 summit in Brisbane
People: Sri Lanka promotes Samarasiri to deputy; Russia picks card system head
Central Bank of Sri Lanka promotes assistant governor Samarasiri to deputy; Russia appoints Vladimir Komlev to head up national payment card operator
Bulgarian state to rescue majority of depositors at scandal-hit banking group
Central bank seeks law change as council claims banking supervision was only in the purview of one deputy governor; loan records apparently destroyed on purpose