Central Banking
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.
Indonesian governor detained
Burhanuddin Abdullah, the governor of Bank Indonesia, has been detained at police headquarters by the country's anti-corruption agency, Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (KPK), a day after parliament approved economics minister Boediono as the next central…
Old Lady lowers rates to 5%
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) cut rates by a quarter point to 5% on Thursday.
Trichet indicates rates to remain at 4%
Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the European Central Bank (ECB), signalled that the Governing Council will leave rates unchanged for the foreseeable future despite mounting evidence that the credit crunch could severely impact the real economy.
British banks want to borrow more
UK banks have asked for a sharp increase in their borrowing facilities at the Bank of England, the Financial Times has reported.
IMF puts subprime losses at $945 billion
Estimates of the size of losses on subprime mortgages and related forms of lending just get uglier and uglier. The latest estimate, presented by the International Monetary Fund in its Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR), puts losses at a staggering …
Stalemate ends as Shirakawa is approved
Masaaki Shirakawa is the new governor of the Bank of Japan after the opposition Democratic Party of Japan accepted his nomination on Wednesday, ending a political standoff that has embarrassed both the central bank and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
Fed minutes point to moderate easing
The latest Federal Reserve minutes suggest that the period of rapid monetary policy easing that started in late January may be over and could be replaced by a return to a more conventional, gradualist approach.
UK opposition calls for new central bank powers
Giving central banks the power to vary the capital banks hold over the economic cycle could help prevent asset price collapses, argued George Osborne, the Conservative shadow chancellor.
Thailand leaves rates on hold
The Bank of Thailand has kept rates at 3.25% for the sixth straight vote.
ECB's Bini Smaghi: sharp easing a dangerous game
Excessive rate reduction can weaken prices of domestic assets, potentially destabilising markets, said Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, a member of the executive board of the European Central Bank.
Fed's Yellen sees economic up-tick
Monetary easing and fiscal stimulus will boost US growth in the coming quarters, said Janet Yellen, the president of the San Francisco Fed.
Housing bequests hamper monetary policy in Cyprus
Social customs in the Cypriot housing market interfere with monetary transmission mechanisms, a paper by the Central Bank of Cyprus finds.
Where New-Keynesian models fall short
New-Keynesian monetary models' assumptions do not fully reflect the complexity of price behaviour, a paper published by the National Bank of Belgium states.
Politicians ask Fed to clarify Bear deal
A high-ranking American politician has issued a strongly worded request for more details about the arrangement the Federal Reserve struck with BlackRock, an asset management firm, to manage a $29 billion portfolio of assets from Bear Stearns following…
ADIA hires ex-banker as communications chief
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) has hired former Morgan Stanley corporate communications executive Euart Glendinning as its first global head of corporate affairs.