Regulation
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.
Comment: EU banking supervision
Bundesbank board member Edgar Meister's assertion earlier this week that "the current supervisory framework is no real hindrance to cross-border consolidation" in the European banking sector, underlines the differences in opinion amongst policymakers on…
CBK warns illegal lenders
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has issued a statement giving sham microfinance institutions until May to clean up their act or face legal action.
Bies on continuous challenges of risk management
In the speech 'The continuous challenges of risk management' given on 2 February Susan Schmidt Bies of the Federal Reserve said regulators are concerned about heavy commercial real estate exposures and risky mortgage lending practices at U.S. banks.
G30 calls for more regulation of reinsurers
Coordinated international regulation of the reinsurance industry is needed despite the fact that the industry poses few risks to the financial system. This was the message of a report by the Group of 30 (G30) launched on Monday 23 January at the Bank of…
RBNZ releases outsourcing policy for banks
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand on Wednesday published its finalised policy on the requirements which will apply to large New Zealand banks that have entered into outsourcing arrangements.
ECB's Trichet on European financial integration
In the speech 'The process of European financial integration: where do we stand?' given on 13 January Jean-Claude Trichet of the ECB said as regards the further integration of securities (i.e. bonds and equity) markets, a prominent role should be…
Unipol considers appeal
The European Commission said it has not yet received a reply from the Italian authorities regarding its legal action against Italy over the involvement of its central bank in the takeover battle for Banca Antonveneta SpA. And Unipol was reported to be…
Vietnam sets up anti-counterfeit money section
The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has set up an anti-counterfeit money section to protect the Vietnamese dong and raise public awareness of how to recognise counterfeit money, said an SBV official.
Regulators should not be competition authorities
Does the Bank of Italy's rejection of the takeover bid for Banca Nazionale de Lavoro by Italian insurer Unipol mean that the Italian authorities have stopped protecting the Italian banking system?
Caruana to leave Basel Committee in July
Jaime Caruana said on Monday 9 January he will step down as chairman of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision when he leaves his post as governor of the Bank of Spain in July this year.
Bundesbank rejects report of 1,500 job cuts
The German government is planning to cut about 1,500 jobs at the Bundesbank by the end of 2007, Der Spiegel magazine reported, quoting a letter Barbara Hendricks, secretary of state to the finance ministry, sent to Volker Wissing, a member of the lower…
ECB paper on the new Basel capital framework
The ECB Occasional Paper "The New Basel Capital Framework and its implementation in the European Union" published December 2005 gives an overview of the main issues that relate to the EU implementation, mainly from the perspectives of financial stability…
Dirk Witteveen to chair Joint Forum
The Joint Forum's parent organisations announced on Wednesday 21 December the appointment of Dirk Witteveen as chair of the Joint Forum for a two-year term beginning January 2006.
IFSRA announces new Chief Executive
The Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority announced on Friday 16 December that Patrick Neary has been appointed to the post of Chief Executive.
Scandals spotlight Italy's regulatory cracks
According to this article published on Wednesday 21 December, Bank of Italy Governor Antonio Fazio's resignation has highlighted the deep problems in Italy's regulatory structure - a system of feeble financial controls which Fazio spent his last months…
Senate approves former regulator to Chile cen bank
Chile's senate has approved the appointment of former banking regulator Enrique Marshall as the new central bank director for the next 10 years, local press reported.
Comment: The benefits of Basel II's colleges
How efforts to implement the new Basel accord are yielding unexpected benefits, with supervisors finding that through their meetings in "colleges", they are learning more about each other's business, how they approach their work and what they need from…
Accounting, risk management, prudential regulation
The BIS has released the Programme from its "Accounting, risk management and prudential regulation" Workshop held on 11-12 November in Basel.