News
NBP won't release its reserves for budget
The National Bank of Poland's governor said the bank will not yield to the request of finance minister Grzegorz Kolodko, who had called on the NBP to release part of its foreign currency reserve and transfer the money to the state budget, according to…
Bosnian banking agencies, central bank sign deal
Bosnia-Hercegovina Central Bank Governor Peter Nicholl signed a memorandum on cooperation and exchange of information in Sarajevo with banking agencies from Serbia and Bosnia-Hercegovina, reports the SRNA news agency.
China's banking regulator to set up advisory body
the New China News Agency reports that China's Banking Regulatory Commission said it intends to set up a non-profit international advisory committee made up of people in supervisory roles in internationally-renowned banks.
New Bank of England Agency Opened in Exeter
Eddie George opened the Bank of England's new regional office in Exeter on Friday 23 May. This is the central base for the Bank's Agency for South West England.
Zimbabwe's central bank raises gold sale price
Zimbabwe's central bank has raised the price paid to small scale gold producers by 114 percent following the abolition of the gold floor price support scheme, the Financial Gazette reports.
Bank of Spain presents annual report on regulation
The Bank of Spain presented its annual report on its regulatory activities on Thursday, it is reported by Expansion.
BOK Governor discounts deflation risk
The Bank of Korea (BOK) governor Park Seung said on Thursday 22 May that there is little possibility of deflation at this point with the current heated real estate market, according to a report in the Korea Times.
Bank of Finland to cease Baltic monitoring
The Bank of Finland will end its monitoring of the Baltic states from next year, the Baltic News Service reports. The bank said the states have in a way reached a watershed and at a certain point the transition is regarded as complete.
Brazil's central bank head of economics resigns
The head of economic policy at Brazil's central bank, Ilan Goldfajn, resigned on Thursday 22 May, according to Associated Press, but denied the decision had anything to do with criticism the bank received at not cutting interest rates earlier in the week.
ECB statements boost rate cut chances
Euro-zone central bankers gave what looked like strong hints on Friday 23 May for an ECB interest rate reduction in June, according to Reuters. The surging value of the euro which went through its launch level on Friday and data showing inflation…
Security fears keep IMF, World Bank out of Iraq
Speaking on Thursday 22 May, officials from the IMF and World Bank said they had not yet sent teams to Iraq as security concerns remain, according to Reuters. Teams are currently based in Jordan but aren't quite ready to move into Iraq, the World Bank…
Dallas Fed official says deflation risk has risen
The top monetary policy advisor to the Dallas Fed president has said he and Robert McTeer agreed that the probability of deflation was "about one in four, or 25 percent", according to a report by Reuters.
RBA says it did its homework on credit cards
As the court action continues in Australia over the RBA's introduction of credit card reforms, the Sydney Morning Herald reports that the Reserve Bank's counsel has accused counsel for Visa and MasterCard of drawing selectively from documents in putting…
Olson says deflation possibility very low
Federal Reserve Governor Mark Olson said on Thursday 22 May thatthe Fed will continue to monitor the deflation situation very carefully "because we've seen the way deflation has hampered Japan's recovery".
Ex-central banker Fraga takes wheel of a cab
Former president of the central bank of Brazil Arminio Fraga has recently appeared on Brazilian television in a comedy sketch playing a taxi driver who likes to voice his opinions on the economy, according to a Bloomberg report
Philippines central bank reviews inflation target
The governor of the Philippines central bank, Rafael Buenaventura, said on Thursday that the inflation target may be revised down as previous concerns such as high oil prices no longer existed, according to Reuters.
Japan on brink of crisis, warns central banker
Speaking to parliament on Wednesday 21 May, Bank of Japan governor Toshihiko Fukui said Japan faces a situation where a so-called financial crisis could be triggered at any time, according to a report by Sapa-AFP.
Reserve Bank of Australia "rushed" card reforms
Australia's Federal Court heard Thursday that the Reserve Bank had rushed through reforms of the Australian credit-card market because an ACCC price-fixing action against National Australia Bank was about to fail, according to a report in The Age.
Bundesbank chief wants tightening stability pact
Bundesbank president Ernst Welteke has warned that Germany should not abandon its budget consolidation efforts and called for a tightening of the European Stability and Growth Pact rules, according to a report in Deutsche Welle.
ECB rates may be too low for Denmark
An OECD study warns that Denmark's policy of shadowing the ECB's interest rates could result in inappropriate rate levels thereby creating a risk the economy will overheat, according to Reuters.
Drive for greater SEC powers
Senior Republicans on Wednesday 21 May introduced a draft bill that they said would help rebuild investor confidence and increase the powers of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Financial Times reports.
Russia's chief banker briefs Putin on inflation
Speaking on Channel One TV in Russia, Sergey Ignatyev said the central bank must continue to strengthen banking supervision and that over a number of years, we will deliver full convertibility for the rouble.
BCCI defence costing Bank of England £1m a month
The High Court in London heard on Monday 19 May that the Bank of England is spending more than £1m a month to fight allegations that it recklessly mishandled the regulation of BCCI, according to the Financial Times.
ECB eye Hitachi micro chip to prevent note forgery
A report noted by Kyodo Newsby says the European Central Bank is looking into the idea of using integrated circuit chips in bank notes to prevent forgery.