News
Barbados to give more power to central bank
The Central Bank of Barbados could be granted more independence if the country's parliament agrees to pass its latest Central Bank act. The island's authorities will also open a financial services regulator within months.
Nigeria hikes rates
The Central Bank of Nigeria said on Thursday it would raise its benchmark monetary policy rate by a full percentage point to 9%.
US needs global payments standards, says industry
Should the US adopt international standards in its domestic payment systems? Surprisingly, "yes" was the overwhelming answer at a packed Sibos, Nick Carver, editor of SPEED, writes from Boston.
Ex-BoE supervision head criticises FSA
According to Peter Cooke, a former head of banking supervision at the Bank of England, the Northern Rock crisis revealed the need for a proper "mechanism for crisis management", a greater official focus on liquidity rather than solvency and more…
CSDs sceptical of ECB's settlement plans
Clearstream and Euroclear, Europe's two largest central securities depositories, were sceptical that the European Central Bank's (ECB) plans to build a single settlement platform will deliver the benefits the central bankers promise, Central Bank News…
Bernanke schedule reveals markets' influence
Details of the diary of Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, show the extent to which Wall Street executives, along with money managers and cabinet officials, played a role in his policy about-turn on 17 August.
No job losses under Bank of Italy branch closure
The Bank of Italy has reassured its employees that it will be making no redundancies, despite closing more than a third of its branches.
Banks struggle with SEPA set-up
More than half of banks will not be able to comply with the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) initiative, which comes into effect in January.
Strauss-Kahn appeases emerging states with votes
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who will become the tenth managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in November, plans to give developing countries more power at the Fund.
Czech CB appoints financial stability deputy
Jan Frait has joined the Czech National Bank as deputy executive director of the financial stability and economic research department at the central bank.
Serbia holds rates
The National Bank of Serbia decided on Monday to keep its key policy rate at 9.75%.
SWIFT responds to privacy fears with new EU base
SWIFT will open a Europe-based global processing centre for payments as part of a response to allay concerns over data privacy raised after the United States asked for data on financial transactions by Europeans following the 9/11 attacks.
Contrasting views on Old Lady's role in crisis
Charles Goodhart and William Buiter, both former monetary policy committee members at the Bank of England and both now professors at the London School of Economics (LSE), had sharply differing opinions on how the Bank should have handled the recent…
Strauss-Kahn set to become IMF managing director
In keeping with tradition, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recruited another EU-backed appointee - Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former French finance minister - to succeed Rodrigo de Rato as head.
Crisis reveals need for better EU oversight - IMF
A lack of regulatory integration is, in part, responsible for the severe impact of the US subprime crisis on financial markets in the eurozone, according to Michael Deppler, head of the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) European department.
Eurozone growth looks to have fallen
Turmoil in the financial markets appears to be having a longer impact on growth in the euro area than previously thought.
We're not out of this yet - Greenspan
Despite a "creep back to normality" in the asset-backed commercial paper and inter-bank markets, Alan Greenspan, the former governor of the Federal Reserve, cautioned that the recent turmoil could have further repercussions.
Regulators to cooperate on rules to combat crisis
Financial regulators from the world's leading economies are set to draft recommendations to avert global instability in response to the recent market turmoil.
World Bank pledges $3.5 billion, cuts rates
The World Bank said it will give $3.5 billion to the world's poorest economies and will lower borrowing costs for poor and middle-income countries.
OECD advises UK to cut rates
The UK should lower interest rates, the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has said.
Spain's Solbes supports Trichet on Sarkozy debate
Pedro Solbes, the Spanish finance minister, indicated that he would side with Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the European Central Bank (ECB), over his recent exchange with Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president.
Alan Greenspan on volatile markets
Interviewed on the BBC's Today programme on 28 September, Alan Greenspan waxed philosophical about the changing nature of financial markets and their relationship to the real economy.
UK business chief singles out King
Richard Lambert, a former member of the monetary policy committee who now heads the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), dismissed Mervyn King's blaming of the Northern Rock crisis on regulatory complexity as unsatisfactory.
Banks snub Old Lady's three-month money
The Bank of England received no bids for its additional three-month tender on Wednesday but the European Central Bank (ECB) revealed that it had loaned €3.9 billion the same day from its marginal lending facility.