News
Washington names nine to buy toxic assets
The US Treasury, Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation give nine firms the right to buy assets under the legacy securities programme
Bank surprise boosts sterling
Bank of England’s decision to hold quantitative easing programme at £125 billion sends pound up against euro and dollar
Fed’s Kohn sets out case for independence
Federal Reserve’s Donald Kohn appeals to lawmakers to maintain independent central bank
IMF research highlights regulatory governance gap
International Monetary Fund paper criticises non-bank regulators for failing to see stability as part of their mandate, finds frameworks for insurance supervision flawed
UK government wards Bank off leaning against wind
Alistair Darling’s long-awaited proposals beef up bank regulation but say the Bank of England should avoid leaning against the wind with rate moves
Nigeria liberalises FX regime, looks to spur liquidity
The Central Bank of Nigeria’s new governor displays intent to move rapidly to fix the financial sector
Eurosystem compiles cards ‘Doomsday’ book
Oversight report on major card schemes planned for release next year
BIS’s Caruana recommends capital ratios of above 10% in booms
Bank for International Settlements’ Jaime Caruana says that capital ratios for financial institutions could go above 10% in good times
Kenya launches new, improved website
Kenyan central bank enhances web presence
British official attacks EU hedge-fund rules
Lord Myners, a UK Treasury minister, labels Brussels’ draft hedge-fund code “ill considered” and “flawed”
German finance minister warns ECB on liquidity overhang
Peer Steinbrück joins Angela Merkel in warning of potential inflationary impact of central bank’s extraordinary measures
CEBS publishes draft liquidity guidelines
Committee of European Banking Supervisors issues consultation paper on liquidity buffers for financial institutions
Bretton Woods institutions launch website for autumn meetings
The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund set up a site for October gathering
Ex-IMF’s Johnson queries NY Fed’s bubble-bursting claims
Former International Monetary Fund research head challenges New York Fed’s Dudley claim that central bank can burst bubbles
ECB's Tumpel-Gugerell confident of adding sterling to T2S
Tumpel-Gugerell believes Bank of England can be convinced to participate in pan-European securities-settlement platform
Riksbank moves into negative rate territory
Sweden’s central bank, the world’s oldest, will on Wednesday become the first since the crisis began to penalise banks for holding deposits
Brussels bids to stabilise derivatives market
European Commission outlines proposals for derivatives-market revamp
Israel takes a step closer to new law
Stanley Fischer’s hard-fought campaign for a central-bank law appears to be nearing its close
Austrian banks well capitalised
National Bank of Austria says stress tests reveal banks sufficiently capitalised to withstand severe recession
NY Fed’s Dudley: central banks must look to lean against the wind
New York Federal Reserve president backs calls for central banks to counter bubbles
Goodhart: central banks unprepared for liquidity support
Charles Goodhart, a former member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, says central banks have to devise common rules for liquidity support after crisis caught them out
Beijing steps up bid for renminbi to become reserve currency
China’s central bank issues rules aimed at enhancing currency’s international status but ex-governor says renminbi will only join euro and dollar after ten years or more
IMF sees signs of recovery in Zimbabwe
International Monetary Fund notes fledgling recovery following Harare mission
Japan appoints new currency policy, regulatory chiefs
Japan’s ministry of finance makes new appointments in its July reshuffle