Regulation
China plans crackdown on capital flight
CHINA - China plans a concerted effort to stop its officials spiriting state funds abroad through an expanding repertoire of illegal activity, officials have said.
Russia and China's central banks sign joint accord
RUSSIA - The Central Bank of Russia and the People's Bank of China on Thursday signed an accord on inter-bank settlements in border areas.
Sticky prices: the impact of regulation
RESEARCH - The Journal of Monetary Economics, May 2002, contains a paper, 'Sticky prices: the impact of regulation'. The paper finds that approximately one-third of the items in the CPI are governed by price regulations that can slow and add noise to the…
Polish Statute questioned by Banking Supervisor
POLAND - Bank Gospodarki Zywnosciowej (BGZ) statute changes that would give the Polish state treasury a privileged position among shareholders have been challenged by the central bank president Leszek Balcerowicz, who also chairs the Banking Supervisory…
CLS bank waits on Fed approval for FX settlement
UK - Settlement bank CLS, aiming to provide a global system to cut risk in settling currency deals, hopes for regulatory approval next month for a full commercial start in the last quarter of this year, Reuters reports a spokesman as saying.
Financial Stability Review, 2002, from the NBB
ANNUAL REVIEW - Financial Stability Review, 2002 Issue 1, from the National Bank of Belgium. The review says that the diversity of topics covered in this first FSR illustrates that financial stability issues have to be studied from a wide variety of…
Hungary president blocks probe on secret services
HUNGARY - Hungary's state president and the head of the central bank have become embroiled in growing controversy over Communist-era links with the secret services.
Can Basel II be made to work?
ARTICLE - Latest developments in the progress of the Basel II Capital Accord have raised concerns by both US and European parties that its complexity will lead to unequal treatment. The Banker magazine, in its August 2002 edition, examines the issue and…
FSA open secret anti-terrorist bunker in London
UK - The UK financial watchdog has opened an emergency headquarters to keep the financial heart of the capital beating in case of a major terrorist attack on London.
Hungary's Jarai admits reporting to secret service
HUNGARY - The chairman of the National Bank of Hungary Zsigmond Jarai yesterday protested against publishing his personal data, but today, he gave a statement to a Hungarian newspaper. The report comes from BBC monitoring.
Singapore central bank to revise structure
SINGAPORE - The Monetary Authority of Singapore said on Thursday it will introduce several structural changes "to more clearly align the organisation's resources and objectives."
Iran's economy minister threatens to resign
IRAN - Iran's Minister of Economy and Financial Affairs Tahmasb Mazaheri has threatened that he would resign if the Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Mohsen Nurbakhsh is not removed from office, press reported Wednesday.
South African banks move to restore trust
SOUTH AFRICA - A review of governance of South Africa's five major banking groups will be undertaken, Registrar of Banks Christo Wiese said on Wednesday.
Bahrain starts Islamic financial market
BAHRAIN - An international Islamic financial market dealing in products that comply with Sharia law has been set-up in Bahrain, the Gulf's regional financial and banking hub.
IMF Public Information Notice
NOTICE - IMF Advances Efforts to Combat Money Laundering and Terrorist Finance, 8 August.
US regulators extend comment period for card rules
US - Regulators have extended the comment period on their draft guidance aimed at improving banks' credit card lending policies to 23 September and said they will soon issue further statements on the guidance.
UK money laundering assistance 'slow'
UK - Britain is taking up to two years to respond to requests from overseas law enforcement agencies for assistance in money laundering investigations, according to the City of London's most senior official.
BIS Working Paper
RESEARCH - 'Asset prices, financial and monetary stability: exploring the nexus' by Claudio Borio and Philip Lowe, July 2002.
BIS Working Paper
RESEARCH - 'The link between default and recovery rates: effects on the procyclicality of regulatory capital ratios' by Edward I Altman, Andrea Resti and Andrea Sironi, July 2002.
Speech by William Poole, St Louis Fed Bank, 4 Aug
SPEECH - In the speech 'Financial Stability' Poole said the United States could benefit from the accounting and corporate governance scandals that have beat markets down to multi-year lows as reforms are put in place. "We will come out the other side of…
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - James Nelson to head Bank Supervision at the Chicago Fed, 29 July.
Kuwait audit urged to verify 1999 CB cash dealings
KUWAIT - The parliamentary committee probing the Central Bank transactions during the period between 1 May and 31 July, 1999 met Tuesday with officials of the auditing office. The purpose of the meeting was to get familiar with the work mechanism to be…
SEC chairman Pitt asks for promotion
US - U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Harvey Pitt, again exhibiting a flair for the political miscue, was under attack 24 July, reports Reuters, for seeking a promotion and a pay raise.
Trichet trial set for January 2003 start
FRANCE - The court case concerning the French banking group Credit Lyonnais, which involves Jean-Claude Trichet, the governor of the Bank of France, will start in January 2003.