News
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.
German sovereign wealth rules "lean and liberal"
Germany's planned legislation to limit investment by sovereign wealth funds will allow foreign funds to buy banks, media companies and consumer industries, but not in the energy sector.
Czech central bank holds rates
The Czech National Bank decided on Thursday to keep its benchmark interest rate at 3.25%.
Injections were the right response - OECD chief
Central banks were correct to inject liquidity into the banking system in order to deal with the turmoil in global money markets, said Angel Gurria, the secretary general of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Further rapid growth in foreign exchange trading
The volumes of foreign exchange traded has grown by 65% over the last three years, the preliminary results of the Bank for International Settlement's (BIS) triennial survey reveal, with global daily turnover averaging $3.2 trillion in April 2007.
New governance head at Norwegian oil fund
Anne Kvam, a legal director at paper producer Norske Skog, will replace Henrik Syse, as head of corporate governance at Norges Bank Investment Management, the Central Bank of Norway's sovereign wealth fund.
Sudan to switch dollar reserves
The Bank of Sudan has said it is looking to replace its dollar reserves with euros and other currencies by the end of 2007 to lessen the impact of US sanctions.
Poland and Romania hold rates
The central banks of Poland and Romania decided on Thursday to leave their benchmark rates unchanged at 4.75% and 7% respectively.
Norway raises rates
Norway's central bank surprised markets by hiking its benchmark rate 25 basis points to 5% on Wednesday.
Politicians want more power to veto Bank
An enquiry into the crisis at Northern Rock by Treasury ministers is expected to result in calls for their colleague, the chancellor of the exchequer, to be able to overrule the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority (FSA).
EU re-designs euro coin to exclude Turkey
The new design of the euro coin - set to be introduced next year in Slovenia, Malta and Cyprus - will not feature Turkey despite its inclusion in the original plans.
Dugan to replace Witteveen at joint forum
John Dugan, the comptroller of the currency in the US, will head the Joint Forum, a group of senior financial sector regulators, following the death of Dirk Witteveen, an executive director at the Netherlands Bank, earlier this month.