Central Banking
Nigeria agrees to house continental central bank
Africa took a step closer to creating a single central bank on Monday after it emerged that the African Union, a body devised to foster economic integration in the region, and Nigeria would sign an agreement to create a regional central bank in Abuja…
Crisis predictable, mirrors previous episodes: BIS
Economists at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) have found that the current financial turmoil was, like other bouts of market stress, preceded by easily identifiable build ups in credit expansion and risk-taking.
Avoid Tokyo's mistakes to combat deflation: Ito
Takatoshi Ito, a prominent economist, has urged global monetary authorities to learn from Japan's errors in order to successfully stave off a nasty bout of deflation.
Media inaccurate in portrayal of CEE's plight
Miroslav Singer, a vice governor at the Czech National Bank, tells CentralBankNews.com why the media's recent treatment of the problems in central and eastern Europe bears scant resemblance to the reality in some countries in the region.
Cut out the toxic assets: Fed's Rosengren
Banks' toxic assets urgently need to taken off their balance sheets, Eric Rosengren, the president of the Boston Federal Reserve, has said.
Austria's Nowotny assesses banks' health
Austrian banks have little exposure the American subprime market, but they have been indirectly affected by the credit crisis, Ewald Nowotny, the governor of the National Bank of Austria, has said.
BIS Quarterly Review, March 2009
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) published its latest Quarterly Review on Monday.
New Zealand will suffer, says Bollard
New Zealand's economy has its strengths but it will not escape unscathed from the global crisis, Alan Bollard, the governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, has warned.
Fed's TSLF fulfils its functions
Federal Reserve's Term Securities Lending Facility (TSLF) is effective in improving market liquidity, finds a new paper form the New York Federal Reserve.
Iceland's Oddsson out, Norwegian consultant in
David Oddsson, the beleaguered head of the Central Bank of Iceland, was forced to step down on Friday following the passing of a new central bank act. Svein Harald Oygard, a director at McKinsey, a consultancy, will replace him as interim governor.
SNB's Roth to step down
Jean-Pierre Roth, the head of the Swiss National Bank, will retire at the end of this year.
Development banks pledge €24.5bn to east Europe
The World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the European Investment Bank on Friday agreed to lend up to €24.5 billion ($31 billion) to support banks in central and eastern Europe hit by the crisis.
Sovereign risk exacerbates procyclicality
The risk premium associated with the possibility of sovereign default plays a key role in the procyclicality of fiscal policy in emerging economies, finds a new paper from the Richmond Federal Reserve.
Central Bank of Iran - Annual Report 2006/07
In the 2006/07 financial year, inflation increased above the target set in Iran's five-year development plan in part due to the central bank's lack of independence, it notes in its latest Annual Report.
Bulgaria takes counter-cyclical measures
The Bulgarian National Bank has taken counter-cyclical measures to support its domestic banks.
Reducing foreclosures essential - Fed's Duke
We need to strengthen and augment our efforts to reduce preventable foreclosures, said Elizabeth Duke, a governor at the Federal Reserve.
BoE's Blanchflower: employment needs fiscal boost
There is now a case for a large fiscal package aimed at boosting employment, said David Blanchflower, an external member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee.
Austria's Nowotny - no EU lead supervisor please
Creating a pan-European supervisor to deal with the monitoring of individual firms would not be the right way to develop the European Union's supervisory regimes, said Ewald Nowotny, the governor of the Austrian National Bank.
A new model of housing cycles
A new paper from the Central Bank of Turkey presents a simple model of housing cycles in a two good economy.
We must review our reliance on ratings: King
Central banks must rethink their reliance on credit ratings to assess financial products' suitability for open-market operations, Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England, has said.
Ex-Buba's Pohl sees euro threat
Karl Otto Pohl, a former president of the Bundesbank, has said that he believes countries are considering quitting the eurozone and that German politicians are concerned that they will end up shelling out for any member's debt defaults.
BoE's Tucker: end bickering over CDS clearing
Paul Tucker, the soon-to-be deputy governor responsible for financial stability at the Bank of England, has called on officials to stop feuding over plans to create a central counterparty for credit default swaps (CDS).
Washington talks down nationalisation
Some of the main players in the United States's plans to fix the financial sector have been playing down the likelihood of nationalisation in recent days.
UK regulator issues code to curb risks from pay
The Financial Services Authority (FSA), Britain's industry regulator, on Thursday outlined a reform agenda for financial sector pay aimed at curbing the excessive risk taking of recent years.