News
Bank of Namibia to issue new banknotes in 2012
New security features will be added to notes; old notes will still be legal tender
IIF: cross-border resolution regime an ‘absolute priority’
Global trade body for banking industry calls on G-20 to set up task force; calls on banks to identify “critical functions” that need to be preserved in the event of failure
Yellen defends IMF proposals on capital controls
Federal Reserve vice-chair takes Fund line on framework to tackle capital inflows; follows criticism of framework from Indian, Brazilian officials
S&P lowers Greece rating
Credit rating agency lowers Greece sovereign ratings; believes eurozone official creditors “may see a restructuring of official and commercial debt as the best way forward”
Elderfield details Ireland's new risk assessment model
Matthew Elderfield, head of financial regulation at the Central Bank of Ireland, reveals details of new ‘Prism’ risk assessment model
Rwanda promotes vice-governor
Claver Gatete, the vice-governor at the National Bank of Rwanda, is promoted to governor; former governor Francois Kanimba takes government role
Bini Smaghi favourite to next lead Bank of Italy
Analysts say European Central Bank executive board member Lorenzo Bini Smaghi is strong candidate to lead Bank of Italy should current governor Mario Draghi move to Frankfurt
Too big to fail must end; FDIC chair Bair
Being labelled a Sifi will not mean being anointed too big to fail, leading to automatic bailouts, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation chairman, Sheila Bair warns
Indonesia issues tough sanctions for Citibank
Bank Indonesia bans Citi from opening branches for a year
Bernanke sheds light on new macroprudential approach
Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke touches on benefits of new macroprudential approach in the United States under the Dodd-Frank Act
Jamaica top of the (volleyball) league
Bank of Jamaica triumphs in one day volleyball rally
China set to sign currency swap with Mongolia
Bank of Mongolia to sign currency swap agreement with People’s Bank of China; deal will mark Beijing’s tenth such deal in less than three years
Grameen Bank dodges Yunus departure by appointing Nobel Laureate as chairman
Bangladesh’s Supreme Court rejects appeal to dismissal of Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus from Grameen Bank; microlender appoints Yunus to chair its board instead
Israel acts to avoid housing crisis
Israel introduces rules limiting amount of mortgage that can be linked to variable rate
Estonia ousts deputy governors
Supervisory board rejects re-election of current deputy governors, new candidates already named
Trichet signals no change in June as ECB holds
Rates likely to remain on hold until third quarter
Bank of England keep rates at record low
Bank holds for fourteenth month in a row
Mexico buys 93 tonnes of gold
Bank of Mexico raises gold holdings by more than 93 tonnes in March; follows trend of other emerging market central banks
Greece will default, panellists say
Panellists at Fathom Consulting’s Monetary Policy Forum say Greece will default on debt; only a matter of by how much
Bailout package offers hope for Portugal
Lisbon accepts €78 billion bailout as part of deal to reduce deficit to 3% of GDP by 2013; analysts say preliminary terms of deal positive for sovereign
ADB discusses stability, inflation and the dollar at AGM
Annual general meeting of the Asian Development Bank touches on core issues for the region; stability, inflation and reforming the international monetary system
Russia finds a third of banks could not survive another crisis
Stress test results show 321 banks would fall below capital minimum in another financial crisis; licences would be revoked
UK must press ahead with fiscal cuts: panel
Panellists at Fathom Monetary Policy Forum present gloomy view on UK economy; former Bank deputy questions wisdom of cutbacks, but says it’s too late to turn back
Draghi calls for EU law to govern bail-in powers
Financial Stability Board chairman Mario Draghi says measures to enable bondholders to receive haircuts before the collapse of a financial institution should be placed in European Union legislation