Regulation
Bank of Italy rejects criticism in bank takeover
The Bank of Italy launched a counter-attack on Wednesday 4 May against EU regulators, analysts and press reports that claim the Italian central bank and its governor, Antonio Fazio, have favoured Banca Popolare di Lodi in a banking takeover.
IMF paper on central bank transparency
The IMF Working Paper "Transparency in central bank financial statement disclosures" looks at the disclosure requirements for central banks under International Financial Reporting Standards and provides practical guidance for those responsible for…
Bundesbank's Meister on Basel II
In a speech on 'The supervisory implications of Basel II' given on 20 April, Edgar Meister of the Deutsche Bundesbank said that a common goal that finance ministries, central banks and supervisory authorities are sharing is to enhance the stability of…
NY Fed's Geithner at the Bond Market Association
In a speech given on 20 April, Timothy Geithner of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said the regulatory treatment of risk in the United States does not capture the risks of new financial products very well and firms need to do more to fix this.
Iran: New call for central bank independence
Iran's deputy minister of economic affairs and finance said the proposed scheme to transform the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) into an independent entity would help improve the management system of the key Foreign Exchange Reserve Fund.
Netherland's Schilder on good governance
In a speech on 'Good governance' given on 11 April, Arnold Schilder of De Nederlandsche Bank highlights the role of public oversight concentrating on recent developments in the field of governance, accounting and supervision.
Fed system works well for US banks says Geithner
As a regulator, "what keeps me awake at night is trying to understand what we don't know," said Federal Reserve Bank of New York President Timothy Geithner Tuesday.
Atlanta Fed's Guynn on corporate governance
In a speech on 'Ethical challenges in a market economy' given on 11 April, Jack Guynn of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta said the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act has helped restore trust in US corporations at a "very substantial" financial cost to some…
Pakistan's Husain on anti-money laundering
In a speech given on 29 March Ishrat Husain of the State Bank of Pakistan said the SBP has signed MOUs with a number of central banks for the exchange of information and expertise covering anti-money laundering and terrorist-financing areas.
FATF launches Arab anti-money laundering group
The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has set up a regional grouping to combat money laundering in the Middle East and North Africa, the head of the Arab banking association said on Monday 18 April.
Spain's Caruana on Basel II
In a speech given on 16 March Jaime Caruana of the Bank of Spain said Basel II represents a great opportunity for the EU to lead the way on international convergence, and I hope that we can seize this opportunity.
Bollard on bank regulation and supervision in NZ
In a speech on 'Bank regulation and supervision in New Zealand: recent and ongoing developments' given on 23 March, Alan Bollard of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand said a major shock to the Australian economy or the mismanagement of a major Australian…
The accountability of financial sector supervisors
Policymakers' uneasiness about granting independence to financial sector regulators stems to a large extent from the lack of familiarity with the concept of accountability. This IMF Working Paper gives operational content to accountability and argues…
Singapore plans Islamic banking boost
Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that the country plans legal changes to make it easier for banks to offer Islamic banking services.
Implementation of Basel II in New Zealand
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand announced on Friday 18 March that it will allow both the "Internal Ratings Based" and "Advanced Measurement" Approaches in the implementation of the Basel II capital framework in New Zealand.
Fed's Bies on Bank Secrecy Act & compliance
In a speech on 'Bank Secrecy Act and capital compliance issues' given on 14 March, Susan Schmidt Bies of the Federal Reserve said US regulators are drafting new guidelines for banks to comply with a law to stop money laundering.
Financial Stability Forum hold 13th meeting, Tokyo
The Financial Stability Forum (FSF) met on 11 March in Tokyo. Members discussed risks and vulnerabilities in the international financial system and reviewed ongoing work to mitigate sources of vulnerability.
Fed's Greenspan on bank regulation
In a speech on 'Bank regulation' given on 11 March, Alan Greenspan of the Federal Reserve acknowledged that a new global pact on banking may hurt some business lines at small U.S. banks, but said regulators may look at tweaking capital rules to ease this.
RBI plans to restructure divisions
According to a report on Thursday 10 March the Reserve Bank of India is restructuring itself in order to streamline operations. Banking sources were quoted as saying the RBI is in the process of moving divisions into separate units.
SEANZA central banks see liberalisation gains
Central bankers from Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand (SEANZA) met this week and agreed to assess the impact of global financial liberalisation on regional monetary, exchange rate and banking supervision policy.
Bank of Italy escapes supervisory power limit
Italy's lower house of Parliament voted on Wednesday 2 March not to remove the Bank of Italy's authority over competition and mergers in the banking sector.
Interview with RBI's deputy governor Udeshi
In a recent interview deputy governor Kishori Udeshi of the Reserve Bank of India said that India's banks are beginning to move towards international banking practices by working to implement Basel II guidelines.
PBOC's Xiaoling on the corporate bond market
In the speech 'Develop corporate bond market to improve financial asset structure' given on 17 January (published 7 Feb), Wu Xiaoling of the People's Bank of China said advancing the development of the corporate bond market is of realistic significance…
Most G7 favour IMF gold sales idea - report
A majority of Group of Seven members favour selling some of the International Monetary Fund's gold reserves to finance debt relief, a German newspaper on Friday 25 February reported G7 sources as saying.