News
Controversy over Transnistrian "central bank"
FEATURE - The National Bank of Moldova denies the legitimacy of the "central bank" of the self-proclaimed "Trans-Dniester Republic". But in the breakaway republic, not recognised by any other country in the world, the Trans-Dniester Republican Bank…
Cash transfers to be possible by Visa card
UK - European consumers will be able to transfer money directly between each other's Visa credit and debit cards by the autumn under plans by the card-processing network.
Buba's Welteke says 2002 hard for German banks
GERMANY - Bundesbank President Ernst Welteke said on Friday 2002 would be a difficult year for German banks and urged the sector to take measures to counter falling results and weak international competitive power.
Russian central bank chief quits on health grounds
RUSSIA - Viktor Gershchenko, chairman of the Russian central bank, resigned on Friday six months before his term was due to expire in September. He abruptly sent a letter of resignation to the president, Vladimir Putin, citing reasons of ill health.
Sudan's c bank tightens banking sector control
SUDAN - According to Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper (11 March), the Sudanese Central Bank intends to tighten control and supervision over the local banking sector.
ECB Duisenberg says europe needs structural reform
SPAIN - Wim Duisenberg, chairman of the European Central Bank, said Europe needs to speed up structural economic reforms to stimulate growth.
Two candidates compete for ctrl bank head post
SOUTH KOREA - Public fund management committee Chairman Park Seung and Korea Federation of Banks chief Ryoo Shee-yul are the two most likely candidates to be the next central bank governor, the Munhwa Ilbo reports.
US Nobel laureate praises China's monetary policy
CHINA - Nobel Laureate Robert Mundell has praised China's monetary policy as "excellent" in a recent interview.
Korea to export currency for world cup period
SOUTH KOREA - The Bank of Korea (BOK) today said that domestic lenders will export 50 billion won (US$37.82 million) worth of the country's money abroad to facilitate currency exchange for foreigners who will visit Korea during the FIFA World Cup period.
Israeli cabinet OKs diluting cen bank chief power
ISRAEL - Israel's cabinet on Sunday approved sweeping changes to the way interest rates are set but analysts said the plans, which include setting up a monetary council, would weaken the central bank and harm the economy.
The IMF-Feeding the rat
ARTICLE - An Article by Diwa C. Guinigundo, Alternate Executive Director, International Monetary Fund, Manila Standard, 28 February.
Interagency Guidance on Country Risk Management
LETTER - The Federal Reserve, along with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, have issued enhanced guidance concerning the elements of an effective country risk management process for banking…
Call for contributions from the ECB
PUBLICATION - Call for contributions from interested parties: Joint work of the European System of Central Banks and the Committee of European Securities Regulators in the field of clearing and settlement, 15 March.
Russian c bank raises gold purchase price by 5%
RUSSIA - The Central Bank of Russia has established a new procedure for calculating buy and sell quotes for refined gold, silver and platinum in bars for operations with credit institutions.
Irish c bank "seriously concerned" by AIB report
IRELAND - The Central Bank of Ireland said Thursday it is "seriously concerned" by what has emerged from the so-called Ludwig report into fraudulent trading activities at Allied Irish Banks PLC (U.ALB).
ECB start raising rates by autumn - Kiel institute
GERMANY - The Kiel Institute for the World Economy IfW, one of Germany's six leading economic research institutes, said on Thursday it expected the European Central Bank to start raising rates in autumn 2002 in response to strengthening euro zone…
IMF sees EU candidates joining euro earliest 2008
POLAND - The Internationl Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday that it would take European Union candidates as long as four years to join the euro zone after planned EU accession in 2004.
South Africa raises interest rates
SOUTH AFRICA - South Africa's Reserve Bank has raised interest rates by one percentage point to 11.5% to counter the inflationary impact of the rand's steep slide last year.
BoE's Clementi sees steady UK rates for some time
UK - British interest rates, on hold at a 38-year low of 4.0 percent since November, will probably stay unchanged for some time while the economy shakes off last year's downturn, a senior central bank official said on Thursday.
China's c bank in battle over payment settlement
CHINA - Credit-card companies are fighting for a slice of multi-billion-dollar revenues which could be earned by providing their international networks to settle transactions made on the mainland.
IMF warns of new bank regulator
INDONESIA - Creating a new financial regulator is by no means a simple task. And a new entity in the making shows the potential for dragging the banking sector through a detour in its road to recovery, according to one study by the International Monetary…
Ex-Turkmenistan banker accused of loan fraud
TURKMENISTAN - The top prosecutor's office has accused a former central-bank chief of embezzling $120 million in German and Swiss loans in one of this isolated nation's biggest corruption scandals since independence from the Soviet Union, according to…
No reason to bar Chinese bank offices
TAIWAN - The central bank doesn't have reasons not to allow mainland Chinese banks to set up representative offices in Taiwan, the Commercial Times reports, quoting Central Bank Governor Perng Fai-nan.
Czech Senate pass amended Banks Act, Payments Act
CZECH REPUBLIC - The Senate on Wednesday passed the amended Banks Act abolishing the possibility of anonymous deposits, among other things.