Regulation
Juncker takes hard line on ECB reform
GERMANY - Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker was quoted on 22 August as saying a future reform of the European Central Bank's Governing Council should retain the principle of the equality of euro zone countries.
Kurdistan opens new central bank
KURDISTAN - Prime Minister of Kurdistan Regional government (Arbil) Nechirvan Barzany has officially opened the new building of Kurdistan Central Bank in Arbil.
HKMA says bankruptcy law changes 'difficult'
HONG KONG - Hong Kong's bankruptcy laws will unlikely be amended despite a sharp rise in the number of people going broke and companies going under, the city's quasi-central bank said 21 August.
Swiss nat bank to change policy if needed
SWITZERLAND - Swiss National Bank (SNB) Chairman Jean-Pierre Roth told a business journal that the central bank will review policy and make changes if needed in late September.
Indian bankers jittery over proposed laws
INDIA - Rattled by scams, bankers are now jittery that new laws could push them further towards the edge. The financial regulators are now pitching for a change in the statutes that would put the responsibility on banks, financial institutions and other…
Ukraine begins certification of bank liquidators
UKRAINE - In line with the National Bank of Ukraine resolution, only persons who pass a special examination will be allowed to participate in the liquidation or temporary management of banks, a report says.
Head of Latvian c bank prepared to found new party
LATVIA - Bank of Latvia President Einars Repse is ready to undertake formation of a new right-wing party.
BIS Working Paper Number 102
RESEARCH - Allocating bank regulatory powers: lender of last resort, deposit insurance and supervision by Charles M Kahn and Joao A C Santos.
Japanese banks seek to avoid disclosure
JAPAN - Japan's banks are seeking to avoid revealing potential losses on their derivative portfolios by lobbying regulatory authorities to postpone legislation that forces them to disclose the market value of their positions.
Economist Webb may be new Peru c bank chief
PERU - President Alejandro Toledo will name economist Richard Webb as the new president of the Central Reserve Bank of Peru, a high-level source is reported to have told Dow Jones Newswires.
Japanese financial regulator reprimands ING Baring
JAPAN - ING Barings Japan, the investment bank, has been reprimanded by the Financial Services Agency (FSA), the country's chief banking regulator, for issuing inaccurate and misleading research, and has also been ordered to tighten internal compliance…
China tighten grip on overseas operations of banks
CHINA - China unveiled rules on 20 August aimed at tightening supervision of the overseas operations of Chinese banks to prevent financial risk.
Turkish police silence chained protester
TURKEY - Turkish police on 20 August detained a man who chained himself to iron railings outside Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit's office in protest at a hard-hitting economic crisis, state-run Anatolian news agency said.
Asian Monetary Fund not a bad idea - US official
USA - The administration of President George W. Bush would support the future establishment of an Asian IMF, a senior U.S. official said today, 17 August.
Fraga says he may stay on in opposition government
BRAZIL - Central Bank chairman Arminio Fraga said on 16 August that he may accept to keep his position after President Fernando Henrique Cardoso's mandate, which ends in 2002.
Philippines Arroyo says peso speculators face jail
PHILIPPINES - Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said on 17 August the peso had rebounded because of the central bank's crackdown on currency speculation and warned speculators of harsh punishment, up to life imprisonment, in the future.
Are central bankers too territorial?
UK - A letter published in today's, 17 August, London edition of the Financial Times claims that central bankers hide behind their independence and protect their own turf.
Kenya unable to pass anticorruption legislation
US - The United States regrets Kenya was unable to pass an anticorruption bill to pave the way for receiving International Monetary Fund (IMF) aid and restarting an economy in its worst shape since the 1960s, the State Department said yesterday, 15…
Ex-SA Reserve Bank deputy gov joins Nedcor
SOUTH AFRICA - Nedcor Group, the South African financial services company, has appointed Timothy Thahane to the boards of several of its companies.
BOT chief says no whitewash
THAILAND - Bank of Thailand Governor MR Pridiyathorn Devakula yesterday, 15 August, denied there would be a "whitewash" of legal cases against former executives of banks and 56 defunct finance companies widely accused of impropriety.
Russian bank tension up as reforms threaten region
RUSSIA - Tension is growing over rival long-delayed measures to reform Russia's banking system as government officials prepare recommendations scheduled to be put forward at the end of September.
Ukrainian president approves anti-poverty strategy
UKRAINE - Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma has signed a decree approving a strategy to overcome poverty.
Africa urged to speed up market integration
SOUTH AFRICA - Africa must step up efforts to integrate its financial markets, but the creation of a single bourse is still a long way off, African central bankers and exchange officials said on 15 August.
Ex-Buba chief Poehl slams ECB communication policy
GERMANY - Former Bundesbank President Karl Otto Poehl was quoted on 14 August as saying the communication policy of the European Central Bank was clumsy and inflexible.