News
Russian bank tension up as reforms threaten region
RUSSIA - Tension is growing over rival long-delayed measures to reform Russia's banking system as government officials prepare recommendations scheduled to be put forward at the end of September.
Ukrainian president approves anti-poverty strategy
UKRAINE - Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma has signed a decree approving a strategy to overcome poverty.
HKMA call on banks to tighten credit card policies
HONG KONG - Hong Kong's central bank today 15 August called on the city's banks to tighten up their policies for issuing credit cards in an effort to combat an increasing incidence of bankruptcy.
Malaysia c bk campaign to promote Islamic banking
MALAYSIA - Malaysia's central bank said 15 August that it will organise a week-long nationwide campaign to promote Islamic banking and insurance from 26 Oct to 2 Nov.
Africa urged to speed up market integration
SOUTH AFRICA - Africa must step up efforts to integrate its financial markets, but the creation of a single bourse is still a long way off, African central bankers and exchange officials said on 15 August.
EC put cards on the table and Visa comes up trumps
AUSTRALIA - The European Commission (EC) has approved Visa's rules on interchange fees for debit and credit cards.
Dutch Kusters engineering granted India contract
INDIA - Dutch company Kusters Engineering, a manufacturer of machines for the destruction of banknotes, has been granted a 25 mln Dutch guilders ($10.2 mln/11.3 mln euro) contract by the Central Bank of India.
Ex-Buba chief Poehl slams ECB communication policy
GERMANY - Former Bundesbank President Karl Otto Poehl was quoted on 14 August as saying the communication policy of the European Central Bank was clumsy and inflexible.
Central Bank to increase bond purchases by 50%
JAPAN - The Bank of Japan announced today it will increase bond purchases by 50%, adding 1 trillion yen (8.1 billion dollars) to the banking system.
Japan loosens monetary policy
JAPAN - The Bank of Japan (BoJ) has decided to make borrowing money cheaper as the weight of huge bad debts and sliding prices continues to cripple the country's domestic economy.
Former Ukraine Bank official rejects fraud charge
UKRAINE - Official charges have been brought against a former deputy head of the National Bank of Ukraine, Volodymyr Bondar. The Kiev city prosecutor's office charges him with abuse of office inflicting losses of 20m dollars on the state. Bondar himself…
Hole-in-the-wall headache behind euro big day
ARTICLE - With the deadline for the introduction into circulation of euro notes less than five months away, Europe is facing its greatest logistical challenge since the D-Day landings.
Bush keeps 'open mind' on Argentina
US - Talks between Argentina, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the US Treasury continued on 13 August, as the country sought extra money to help ease its financial crisis.
High-tech credit card scam spreads
ASIA - International criminal gangs are using high-technology to steal thousands of credit card numbers at a time from trusting shoppers.
Euro's launch vital to debate in Sweden
SWEDEN - Goran Persson, Sweden's Social Democratic prime minister, believes the Scandinavian country could be a member of the single currency by 2005 if next January's introduction of euro notes and coins is a success.
Warning by IMF puts BoJ under pressure
JAPAN - Pressure on the Bank of Japan to ease monetary policy at its two-day meeting that starts today has been increased considerably by the International Monetary Fund's reversal of an earlier growth forecast and its warning that Japan would enter a…
Venezuelan c bank stokes fears of capital controls
VENEZUELA - Venezuela's central bank is rolling out measures aimed at bolstering its currency and stemming the flow of dollars out of the country.
EU candidates must join ERM on way to euro-Noyer
GERMANY - European Central Bank Vice President Christian Noyer said on 13 August countries seeking to join the single European currency must first keep their currencies loosely aligned with the euro for two years.
Ex-Im Bank signs MOU with Iranian bank
IRAN - The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Ex-Im Bank) has signed a 500-million-dollar deal with the Central Bank of Iran that would facilitate trade between the two countries.
C Bank head says new ex rate system successful
EGYPT - Prime Minister Dr Atif Ubayd 12 August presided over a meeting of the ministerial economic group which reviewed conditions on the exchange rate market and made an evaluation of the first week of the new exchange rate system and providing foreign…
C Bank names another bank to manage forex reserves
BRAZIL - The Central Bank has named Credit Agricole Asset Management as one of the financial institutions that will manage part of the US$35.3 billion of the bank's foreign currency reserves.
World Bank-IMF annual meet curtailed
US - The 2001 annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which were scheduled to be held in Washington between 27 September and 3 October, have been curtailed and will now be held for just two days, 29 September and 30.
French drop hope of replacing Duisenberg
GERMANY - France is apparently abandoning its hopes of replacing Dutch European Central Bank President Wim Duisenberg with a French president in 2002, when half of his eight-year term will be up, reports Der Spiegel.
LDP Yamamoto - Won't keep axe over BOJ gov head
JAPAN - Pumping up the pressure on the Bank of Japan to ease credit further to halt deflation, a leading ruling party critic of the central bank has moved a step closer to taking the BOJ Law into his own hands.