News
Swiss franc declines as SNB eases policy rate
Swiss National Bank moves to stem strengthening of the Swiss franc by easing monetary policy; franc falls 1.97% against the euro following decision
Brazil ‘prepared’ for international challenges: Tombini
Governor of the Central Bank of Brazil says country is ‘prepared’ to face the challenges in the international arena; expects inflation downward trend to continue
SARB announces temporary registrar replacement
The South African Reserve Bank announces deputy to step into registrar role until beginning of 2012
RBA places eight more people on financial sanctions list
Reserve Bank of Australia freezes assets of eight people associated with Syrian Al-Assad regime and one person linked to Qadhafi regime; 17 Zimbabweans taken off the financial sanctions list
New head of statistics unit at Bank of Finland
Bank of Finland appoints Laura Vajanne as head of statistics within the financial stability and statistics department
South Korea follows through on gold purchase plans
South Korea buys $1.24 billion worth of gold; governor said in October 2010 that central bank was considering expanding gold holding
Ex-MPC members debate QE options
Bank of England former Monetary Policy Committee members discuss scope for further asset purchases in the UK
IMF expresses ‘disappointment’ at Commission’s Basel III proposals
IMF says European Commission’s proposals to adopt Basel III are too soft and do not offer national authorities sufficient flexibility over macroprudential policy
Israel stress test results show room for improvement
Results of stress tests show Israeli banks need to improve Core Tier I capital and risk management practices
Former Estonian official advises prime minister before Helsinki move
Märten Ross takes up prime minister advisory role before joining as adviser to Bank of Finland’s monetary policy and research department
Gono urges caution in banking sector split
Gideon Gono says indigenisation and economic empowerment plan must be applied in a way that benefits the population most broadly; urges caution in division of banking industry
Tunisia struggling to regain stability
'Sharp regression' in mining and tourism leads executive board to call for 'ongoing follow-up of the economic situation' in the country
BoE’s Haldane considers policy to stem pro-cyclicality of haircuts
Bank of England executive director of financial stability Andy Haldane says minimum collateral requirements could be used to ease pro-cyclical nature of haircuts
China focus remains on inflation fight
Prudent monetary policy to continue, says central bank; fighting inflation is still top priority
Norway SWF adds more London properties to portfolio
Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global takes 25% share in two London properties; move follows $700 million investment in London’s Regent Street
Obama acknowledges AAA credit rating at risk
Obama says result of downgrade would be “like a tax on everyone” with higher interest rates; remains hopeful that there are “plenty of ways out of this mess”
Swiss National Bank posts large loss due to surge in currency
SNB records Sfr10.8 billion ($13.7 billion) loss for the first half of 2011; blames strong appreciation of Swiss franc
Asian Development Bank encourages regional policy cooperation
The Asian Development Bank wants to see increased regional policy cooperation to ensure more balanced and sustained growth in emerging East Asia
Questions raised over UK’s FX volume surge
Market participants attribute a range of factors to the 23% rise in FX turnover in the UK reported by the Bank of England's FX Joint Standing Committee on July 25
Turkmen central bankers jailed
Three central bank officials jailed; latest in long history of dramatics at the country’s central bank
Fed warns of Dodd-Frank clash with Basel III
Proposal to remove references to credit rating agencies conflicts with Basel III wording; Fed faces tough process to find alternative standards of creditworthiness
Cyprus fiscal woes deepen as Moody’s downgrades
Moody’s downgrades Cyprus two notches as country’s fiscal problems force government to resign
Bank’s Miles allays fears over economic costs of Basel III
Bank of England external Monetary Policy Committee member David Miles says Basel III requirements will not have negative bearing on economy, as long as the transition is gradual
Ireland copies UK in new central bank law
Central bank can now order financial services providers to have an independent expert prepare a report on any regulatory matter; similar to UK provision