News
British regulator asks for 10% more funds
Financial Services Authority puts bulk of responsibility to pay up on the bigger banks
China surprises with second reserve requirement hike
People’s Bank of China ups its reserve requirement ratio by 0.5 percentage points to drain excess liquidity from system
China’s SWF to take control of its portfolios
China Investment Corporation will increase the proportion of investments that are managed in house, says its chairman Lou Jiwei
HKMA in fresh drive to spur yuan trade
Hong Kong Monetary Authority measures promote renminbi bond issuance and settlement
British PM heralds global bank levy
British prime minister Gordon Brown flags growing consensus among leaders on a global bank tax following Obama proposals
India’s Gokarn rules out March hikes
Reserve Bank of India’s Subir Gokarn emphasises that, barring extraordinary circumstances, the central bank will not raise rates before April; central bank cracks down on PayPal
Fed mulling switch to new policy rate
Federal Reserve’s Ben Bernanke says officials mooting the use of interest on reserves as benchmark target
Triple A rating “ours to lose”: King
Bank of England’s Mervyn King says downgrade unlikely given Britain’s strong track record and maturity of government bonds
New governor for the Bank of Central African States
Former director-general Lucas Abaga Nchama takes over at the top after the firing of his predecessor, Philibert Andzembe, over an embezzlement enquiry and unexplained losses
Ex-Bank deputy wants shift in monetary policy remit
Former Bank of England deputy governor and Financial Services Authority chairman Howard Davies calls for central banks to broaden ambit of monetary policy; insists supervision best handled outside the central bank
Kenya gets first credit-reference bureau
Central bank governor Njuguna Ndung’u says credit bureaux will increase the availability and lower the cost of loans for borrowers
Watch money growth like ECB does: Trichet
ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet says the central bank has always considered monetary aggregates in its policy decisions, and urges the rest of the world to do so
Zim’s Gono to meet Biti, Mugabe over diamond seizure
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s Gideon Gono to meet with president and finance minister after police seize a reported 29kg of diamonds from the central bank
Some microfinance rules to mirror banks’: Basel
Basel Committee on Banking Supervision says some of its original principals on effective banking supervision will broadly apply to microfinance with a little tweaking
Israel inches towards rate-setting board
Bank of Israel law, which would set up a six-member Monetary Policy Committee, passes first of three readings in the Knesset
UK FSA chief executive in quit surprise
Financial Services Authority’s Hector Sants surprises City with decision to depart in the summer after three years as chief executive
Hungary to buy forint mortgage bonds to spur lending
Move by the National Bank of Hungary highlights concern over return to euro financing, seen as key cause of crisis
Europe is losing the “war on cash”: report
ECB and European Commission efforts to promote cashless payments are having some effect, but people still prefer cash, report finds
Greece should go to IMF, not EU for aid: Issing
Former ECB chief economist advocates tough love from Washington, rejects Brussels bailout; position conflicts with senior EU bureaucrat
Ex-Nigeria chief loses state governor race
Nigerian ex-governor Charles Soludo places third in the bid for governorship of the resource-rich Anambra state after a spirited campaign
Kuwait makes surprise 50bp cut
Central Bank of Kuwait trims half a percentage point off key rate in the face of low inflationary pressures and to encourage lending to non-oil sectors
Ex-NY Fed chief opposes Volcker rule
Former New York Fed head Jerry Corrigan, now at Goldman Sachs, plays down impact of banks’ activities; warns against regulatory arbitrage
Drop the math, Finland’s Liikanen tells economists
Bank of Finland’s Erkki Liikanen says profession will have to be more humble post
Ex-IMF chief economist wants Fed’s Hoenig for Treasury
Simon Johnson says lone FOMC dissenter “entirely plausible” successor to Tim Geithner