Regulation
Japanese regulator seeks hedge fund clamp-down
The Japanese Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission (SESC), has warned that investment banks and hedge funds are becoming "too close" and expressed fears that this could lead to insider trading and other forms of misconduct.
Italian bank takeovers a success - Saccomanni
The acquisition of southern Italy's leading banks by banks in the centre and north of the country have had important positive effects, contributing to improve principles and techniques of credit management, Fabrizio Saccomanni, a director general of the…
Paper on contestability in Canadian banking
The Bank of Canada has published a discussion paper entitled, "A Note on Contestability in the Canadian Banking Industry."
Colombia researches ratings
The Bank of Colombia has published a paper that estimates transition matrices for the ratings on financial institutions.
Bank of Korea to restrict foreign borrowing
The Bank of Korea is about to impose new restriction on the amount of foreign currency borrowing South Korean companies can undertake.
China plans deposit insurance
The People's Bank of China is looking into the establishment of a deposit insurance scheme to protect depositors should a bank collapse.
Kroszner on Fed's supervision initiatives
In this speech, Randall Kroszner, a governor of the Federal Reserve Board, discusses the American central bank's current work to strengthen our support of minority-owned depository institutions and several ongoing supervisory and regulatory initiatives…
De Rato warns against private equity buy-outs
Rodrigo de Rato, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, has warned against the dangers posed to global investment and growth prospects from the sharp rise in private equity buy-outs.
Al-Sayari on Saudi banking industry
In this speech, Hamad Saud Al-Sayari, the governor of Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, says the central bank is currently directing the kingdom's banks towards the adoption of Basel II standard by 1st January 2008.
Developments in Asian insurance markets
This this speech, Low Kwok Mun, the executive director for insurance regulation at the Monetary Authority of Singapore, considers what Asian countries can do to ensure that they attract the required talent in the insurance industry.
How competition policy affects banks - report
A new report from the ECB finds that as competition policy strengthens banks' share prices rise, but those of non-financial firms fall.
Fed's Braunstein on fair lending
Sandra F. Braunstein, director of the division of consumer and community affairs of the US Federal Reserve Board, gave testimony on fair lending and the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act on 25 July.
Dr Zeti on building Malaysia's banks
Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, the governor of Malaysia's central bank, sets out how Malaysia's banking system must look to develop amidst a changing financial landscape.
Bank of Italy orders Italease managers to resign
Two senior managers of Banca Italease SpA, a Milan-based leasing company, have been ordered by the Bank of Italy to resign. The central bank said that the company needs to raise capital after it had to spend € 610m ($843m) on unwinding derivatives bets…
Bank of Netherlands Antilles to be investigated
The financial supervision exercised by the Bank of the Netherlands Antilles (BNA) is to be checked once more by the Dutch Financial Market Authority (AFM). Last month it was announced that the AFM had found the BNA to be seriously lacking in its…
Ingves on how to regulate cross-border banks
Stefan Ingves, the governor of the Riksbank, set out the challenges authorities face in regulating increasingly integrated financial markets.
Introducing Islamic banks - IMF paper
This paper looks at how Islamic financial institutions have been introduced in "conventional" financial systems.
India proposes regulation of moneylenders
A panel set up by the Reserve Bank of India, the country's central bank, has published proposals for legislation which would regulate unauthorised moneylenders. These can charge annual interest rates of up to 150% to farmers and other borrowers.
New FSA chief sounds warning call
The new chief executive of the British Financial Services Authority, Hector Sants, has warned that banks and financial institutions may not have done enough to protect themselves and their investors against the impending market downturn.
Interim board for new Qatari watchdog by December
Qatar's finance ministry will appoint an interim board to manage the proposed single financial sector regulator by December this year.
Portfolio credit risk in central banks
This report presents the findings of a task force, established in early 2006 and consisting of nine Eurosystem central banks to analyse and discuss the use of portfolio credit risk methodologies by central banks.
Analysing hedge fund credit risk
This New York Fed Staff Report argues that the characteristics of hedge funds makes the use of counterparty credit risk management (CCRM) methodologies more difficult as they exacerbate market failures linked to agency problems, externalities, and moral…
Why Europe needs a banking charter
The authors of this IMF Working Paper argue that a full-fledged EU-level prudential regime that operates along-side national regimes - which they call a "European Banking Charter" - could harness market forces to establish a level playing field for…
FSA urged to take on retail banking regulation
John Tiner, who leaves the UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA) today after four years as chief executive, told an annual meeting that the oversight of retail banking should be consolidated, as the reasons that had led to a separate code were no…