Central Banking
Central Bank of Sri Lanka - Annual Report 2007
Sri Lanka's economy grew by 6.8% in 2007, spurred by a buoyant manufacturing sector.
G7 backs FSF recommendations
Central bank governors and finance ministers from seven of the world's leading economies have welcomed the Financial Stability Forum's (FSF) regulatory response to the credit crunch and are set to implement several of its recommendations by the end of…
Kenya calls on bankers to disclose loan costs
The Central Bank of Kenya is to ask banks to provide a greater deal of clarity on borrowing costs.
Israel puts plastic notes into circulation
The Bank of Israel on Sunday introduced its first polymer banknote.
Factory-gate inflation rise compounds BoE's woe
Producer prices in the UK leapt to 6.2% for the year to March, the highest rate since 1991.
Eurozone must avoid price spiral: France's Noyer
Christian Noyer, the governor of Banque de France, warned policymakers that the current wave of above-target inflation must not lead to a price and wage spiral.
Policy stance remains appropriate: BoJ minutes
Japanese policymakers remain keen to raise rates in spite of a slowdown in the world's second-largest economy, minutes of the March Monetary Policy Council meeting reveal.
BoE on how to reduce systemic risk
The Bank of England has published a paper looking at how the structure of financial systems affects systemic risk.
Bank of Canada on housing market volatility
Better access to global financial markets exacerbates the peaks and troughs of business cycles for the housing industry, research published by the Bank of Canada shows.
Serbia's Jelasic praises SEPA
The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), a eurozone-wide payments initiative, is an excellent example of how technology can be used to facilitate development of the financial sector, said Radovan Jelasic, the governor of the National Bank of Serbia.
SA's Mboweni braves political pressure, hikes rate
Tito Mboweni, the governor of the South African Reserve Bank, reaffirmed his commitment to the central bank's inflation target on Thursday, raising rates by half a point to 11.5% in the face of intense political pressure.
Crisis "nothing like" Great Depression: Bernanke
Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve and a scholar on the Great Depression, has rebuked suggestions that the current financial climate is similar to that of the 1930s.
Iceland raises rates again
The Central Bank of Iceland hiked rates by half a point on Thursday. The move follows an emergency 125 basis point rise a fortnight ago.
Prague backs CNB on move to halt koruna's rise
The Czech government will divert its foreign exchange income from currency markets, on the advice of the country's central bank, which is keen to temper the appreciation of the koruna.
Peru unexpectedly raises rates
The Central Bank of Peru surprised markets on Thursday by backing a 25 basis-point hike and raising the reserve requirement for foreign and domestic currency holdings.
No need to change disclosure rules
Disclosure practices may be enhanced without amending existing rules, a survey conducted by leading global regulators has found.
RBI calls for better banking
Shyamala Gopinath, a deputy governor at the Reserve Bank of India, called on banks to improve their standards of customer service.
SA economies unaffected by turmoil
The economies of Southern Africa have remained strong despite the volatility in global financial markets, Tito Mboweni, the governor of the South African Reserve Bank, said in a recent speech.
Canada monitoring credit conditions
The Bank of Canada is looking at the impact of the unusually wide credit spreads, prevalent in the country's money markets since the summer, on financial stability, inflation and monetary policy, said David Longworth, a deputy governor at the central…
Financial literacy crucial - Bernanke
US states should consider making personal finance a requirement for all students who seek a high-school diploma, said Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve.
Bollard advocates New Zealand's economic strength
Banks should avoid overreacting to the economic downturn as the New Zealand economy remains fundamentally sound and creditworthy, said Alan Bollard, the governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.
Bank of Japan's economic outlook
Japanese economic growth is slowing mainly due to high energy and materials prices, the Bank of Japan's latest monthly economic report states.
Payments industry lacks competition
If we want to speed up the development in payment services, we need to increase competition in the market, said Erkki Liikanen, the governor of the Bank of Finland.
Crisis worst shock since Great Depression: IMF
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that the US subprime fallout has precipitated the largest financial crisis since the Great Depression and that there is a 25% chance that it will cause a full-blown global recession.