News
Thai cb to share massive debt burden
THAILAND - The central bank is set to share responsibilty with the government for the bonds issued to cover losses for the state's financial rescue fund. Sommai Phasee, deputy permanent secretary at the Ministry of Finance, made the announcement today in…
No threat to cb independence says Polish president
POLAND - Alexander Kwansniewski, the president of Poland, in suporting anammendment to bring the bank act in to line with EU standards, offeredreasurrance over the National Bank's independence: "I cannot see any threats to the independence of the central…
Philippine cb should lobby for more power says IMF
PHILIPPINES - The International Monetary Fund is pressing the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the central bank in the Philippines, to lobby for changes in the country's banking laws in a bid to strengthen the central bank's supervisory powers over banks.
ECB raises inflation forecast
GERMANY - The European Central Bank on Thursday raised its projection for inflation this year, underlining pessimism about prices that suggests the bank may raise interest rates later this year.
IMF mission arrives in Argentina
ARGENTINA - An International Monetary Fund mission landed in Argentina on Thursday to discuss the possibility of resuming billions of dollars in credit after a six-month freeze, which could open the door to other aid sources and help stop contagion to…
BoJ keeps monetary policy unchanged
JAPAN - Japan's central bank left its monetary policy unchanged Wednesday, sticking to its stance of freeing up cash to circulate through the financial system, reports Dow Jones.
Korean governor hints at rate rises
KOREA - Bank of Korea governor Park Seung signalled on Wednesday that more interest rate rises might be in the pipeline as he stressed the need to curb price pressures in a rapidly expanding economy.
Vote of confidence for Brazil governor
BRAZIL - The Brazilian government's candidate for presidential elections, Jose Serra, said on Tuesday he hopes to keep Arminio Fraga as president of the central bank if he wins the October vote.
Anti-money laundering rules in Pakistan
PAKISTAN - The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has made it mandatory for banks and financial institutions to enforce 'Know Your Customer' (KYC) rules to counter the threat of money laundering, official sources in the central bank said on Tuesday.
Dutch central bank move supports gold
NETHERLANDS - Jan Lamers of the Netherlands Bank is the first central banker to confirm that the volume of gold being lent to the market has started to decline.
Fed ends sanctions against Bank of New York
USA - The Federal Reserve has announced it is terminating its sanction against the Bank of New York because the bank has complied with its agreement to correct alleged deficiencies in preventing money laundering.
Breather won by Bank Indonesia on $1.3bn loans
INDONESIA - Bank Indonesia has reached a rescheduling agreement with the London Club of commercial creditors to extend the repayment period of loans worth around $300 million to 17.5 years, while other loans worth $1 billion will be extended for 10…
Reform of Taiwan cb board may improve independence
TAIWAN - Taiwan's cabinet has submitted a reform plan for the board of directors at the Central Bank of China, which focuses on the bank's independent status. Once the amendment is passed by the legislature, the central bank will maintain its supervisory…
BOK considers redenomination of currency
KOREA - The Bank of Korea is studying ways to reform the present currency unit system by issuing new won notes and coins, in a move to re-denominate the won downward and upgrade its value. This will involve shaving one or two zeros off the won's face…
Egypt cb opens new check clearing house
EGYPT - The new electronic Cairo Clearing House at the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) was inaugurated yesterday. Its services will be available to banks nationwide and its computerized system will be capable of clearing up to 100,000 cheques a day.
UAE cb planning supervisory system for hawala
UAE - The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates is devising a licencing and supervisory system for hawala and will host a conference next year to follow up recommendations of an international conference held last May.
African Development Bank - Annual Report 2000
ANNUAL REPORT - The African Development Bank Group's Annual Report for 2000 can now be accessed online.
Buying back long-dated bonds way forward for Japan
LETTER - Letter by Professor Tim Congdon published in the Financial Times on 10 June in response to an editorial by Sir Samuel Brittan, which in turn had commented on Prof Congdon's original article in Central Banking journal, 'What is to be done about…
Central banks should heed asset inflation
LETTER - Anthony H. Rowley, a contributor to Central Banking journal, argues in a letter published in the Financial Times on 10 June that central banks should pay more attention to asset inflation when conducting monetary policy.
Bureaucrats compete to replace RBI dep governor
INDIA - There is stiff competition to take the place of the outgoing deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Dr Y. V. Reddy. According to the finance ministry, two senior bureaucrats are jockeying to control this key post which involves…
Commercial banker made dep chairman of Kazakh cb
KAZAKHSTAN - A new deputy chairman has been appointed to the National Bank of Kazakhstan. Anvar Saydenov, who is 41, was appointed by Kazakhstan's president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, on the recommendation of the central bank.
Iran's cb to issue bonds despite US sanctions
IRAN - The Central Bank of Iran still plans to issue its first international bond, according to its governor, Mohsen Nourbakhsh. This is despite the withdrawal of Iran's debt rating by Moody's.
Update, B of Israel's Monetary Program, 9 June
PRESS RELEASE - The Bank of Israel today announced an update of its monetary program for June 2002, according to which its interest rate will be raised by 1.5 percent to 7.1 percent. The change will go into effect on Tuesday, 11 June 2002. Thus, the…
Shekel gains slightly on dollar despite rate hike
ISRAEL - The shekel strengthened only slightly on the dollar Monday, despite the Bank of Israel's surprise announcement a day earlier of a sharp hike in interest rates.