Regulation
Reserve Bank of Malawi seeks autonomy
The Reserve Bank of Malawi has proposed for the amendment of the Malawi constitution so that it can move to a semi-autonomous status.
Fed's Bies on sound capital and risk management
In the speech 'Sound capital and risk management' given on 29 March Susan Schmidt Bies of the Federal Reserve said the Fed is committed to maintaining strong bank capital levels as institutions make the transition to standards under new Basel II capital…
Comment: 'Impasse' over CBK governor's position
A spokesperson for the Central Bank of Kenya has told CentralBankNews that the current wrangling between the central bank and the government has reached "an impasse". The governor of the central bank, Andrew Mullei, has been charged with four counts of…
Parliament to probe Poland's central bank
The Polish parliament voted on Friday 24 March to establish a panel to investigate decisions by the National Bank of Poland on foreign takeovers in the financial sector since communism fell.
Argentine central bank to increase oversight
Argentina's central bank intends to step up oversight over foreign exchange trading, according to a report.
Fed's Spillenkothen to retire
Rich Spillenkothen, the director of the Division of Banking Supervision and Regulation, will retire on June 30 after thirty years of service with the Federal Reserve Board, including nearly fifteen years as the director of the division.
NBP's Balcerowicz warns of political risks
Leszek Balcerowicz, president of the National Bank of Poland, has warned that the creation of an investigative committee for banking supervision will result in an increase in political risk.
Bundesbank's Meister defends Polish regulator
Germany's central bank has criticised Poland's plans to reform its financial regulator, saying the move would isolate the country.
Comment: The benefits of supervisory integration
A new IMF working paper investigates the trend toward integrating the regulation and supervision of banks, non-bank financial institutions and securities markets. The authors attempt to fill a gap in the literature by empirically assessing the impact…
ECB's Bini Smaghi on financial market supervision
In the speech 'Independence and accountability of supervision in the european financial market' given on 9 March Lorenzo Bini Smaghi of the ECB said the increasing European financial integration poses difficult challenges for the institutional…
Comment: Balcerowicz battles on
The president of the National Bank of Poland (NBP), Leszek Balcerowicz, and the ministry of finance are at loggerhead over a hotly debated bank merger. The government wants the deal blocked, Balcerowicz refuses to do so. Even as his first term draws to…
Bernanke on community banking & bank supervision
In the speech 'Community banking and community bank supervision in the twenty-first century' given on 8 March Ben Bernanke of the Federal Reserve said the rapid growth in commercial real-estate loans made by community banks bears watching.
NBP chief defends decision over meeting
Leszek Balcerowicz, governor of the national bank of Poland, rejected accusations on Friday 10 march that he broke the law by excluding a government official from a regulatory meeting on Italian lender UniCredit's deal to buy Polish Bank BPH.
Fed's Kohn on regulatory relief
In testimony 'Regulatory relief' given on 1 March Donald Kohn of the Federal Reserve said the Federal Reserve will continue to be "a strong and active supporter" of legislative efforts to provide regulatory relief in the banking sector.
Significant progress on global financial stability
Senior regulators, who met on Wednesday 1 March, said that progress had been made in improving the stability of the global financial system, but noted that much more needed to be done.
ECB's Gonzalez-Paramo on EU cross-border banking
In the speech 'Cross-border banking in the EU: developments and emerging policy issues' given on 24 February Jose Manuel Gonzalez-Paramo of the ECB said financial integration is a highly dynamic process, in which market developments and policy action are…
Wellink on regulators and the pension industry
In the speech 'How regulators contribute to a sustainable pension industry' given on 15 February Nout Wellink of the Netherlands Bank said the Dutch central bank has set up a working group looking at ways of making the country an attractive domicile for…
BI to introduce Sharia Banking Committee
Bank Indonesia intends to develop Sharia Banking Committee (KPS) as the regulatory body for sharia banks.
Ferguson on globalization, insurers, & regulators
In the speech 'Globalization, Insurers, and Regulators: Shared Challenges Call for Collaborative Solutions' given on 23 February Roger Ferguson of the Federal Reserve said he did not expect long-term interest rates to rise suddenly, although it was hard…
The role of central banks in banking crises
According to this article published on 2 February, central banks should not supervise the banking system. When asked to do so, central banks are really asked to draw criticism on their past performance, their policies and their vigilance in the past, it…
Former Polish minister against super regulator
In an interview for the Parkiet daily, the former head of the Polish Securities and Exchange Commission (KPWiG) and treasury minister in Marek Belka's government, Jacek Socha, assessed the Polish financial market as not mature enough to introduce…
IMF paper on bank regulation
This new IMF working paper argues that "banks will want to influence the bank regulator to favor their interests, and they typically have the means to do so".
Italy welcomes bank merger
Le Figaro reported yesterday that the Italian government has welcomed the takeover bid for BNL, the country's sixth-largest bank, by French banking group BNP Paribas. The paper quoted Italian finance minister, Giulio Tremonti, as saying he regards it as…
FATF to look at Russian banks
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an inter-governmental anti money laundering body, plans to carry out a large-scale check on the Russian banking system in April 2007, Russian Central Bank deputy chairman Viktor Melnikov said earlier this week.