Central Banking
Riyadh to host payment systems conference
A two-day international conference on 'Payment Systems in Saudi Arabia and GCC countries' is to be held in Riyadh from 14 November. The forum will discuss the present mode of electronic access to funds at remote locations and future strategies.
China's Zhou says no timetable to widen yuan band
The People's Bank of China has no timetable for widening the trading band for the yuan against the dollar, PBOC governor Zhou Xiaochuan said Thursday 21 September.
Fed, staying put, seeks signals for next move
This article published Thursday 21 September by Bloomberg says that the Federal Reserve's decision to leave US interest rates unchanged on Wednesday indicates they still want to see how matters unfold before doing anything else.
Dodge adviser says statements can be mis-read
An advisor to Bank of Canada governor David Dodge said on Wednesday 20 September that investors sometimes read too much into the statements announcing central bank interest-rate decisions, and may look for clues that aren't there.
Fed appoints successor to Rich Spillenkothen
The Federal Reserve Board on Thursday 21 September announced the appointment of Roger T. Cole as director of the Division of Banking Supervision and Regulation, effective immediately.
Russia appoints new supervision head
A new official has been appointed to run the Russian central bank's Banking Supervision Committee, following the murder of the first deputy chairman a week ago, the bank announced Thursday 21 September, according to RIA Novosti.
Inflation major risk to GCC currency bid
According to this recent article published on the Trade Arabia website, petty politics and diverging inflation rates are the main risks to the Gulf's attempts to set up a monetary union by 2010.
Central Bank of Lesotho - Annual Report 2005
According to the Central Bank of Lesotho's Annual Report 2005, the Lesotho economy was projected to grow at a rate of 1.2 per cent in 2005 compared with 3.1 per cent realised in the previous year.
RBI's Reddy on foreign exchange reserves
In the speech 'Foreign exchange reserves: New realities and options' given on 19 September Y.V. Reddy of the Reserve Bank of India said emerging market economies were always wary that capital flows could slow down, and foreign exchange reserves were…
ECB's Tumpel-Gugerell on a SEPA for cards
In the speech 'A SEPA for cards: a contribution to a cashless society?' given on 20 September Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell of the ECB said the ECB has been surprised by the strength of growth in cash in circulation since the launch of the euro.
ECB report on interest rate differences
The European Central Bank published a report on differences in MFI interest rates across euro area countries on 20 September. In the report the ECB said interest rates charged by banks vary widely between euro zone countries.
CNB's Erbenova rules out 2010 euro date
Czech National Bank board member Michaela Erbenova told daily newspaper Dnes that the Czech Republic will not adopt the euro by its 2010 target date.
BOT chief denies premiership rumours
Bank of Thailand (BOT) governor M.R. Pridiyathorn Devakula on Wednesday 20 September denied a rumour he had been approached to take the Thai premiership.
ECB Liikanen says more rate hikes needed
The European Central Bank will have to raise interest rates again if it is to keep inflation under control, Finnish central bank chief Erkki Liikanen said in a newspaper interview published Wednesday 20 September.
BoE minutes show inflation concerns worry MPC
Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee members said in minutes released Wednesday 20 September that inflation is likely to speed-up and growth will stay around the long-term average.
Central banker of the year announced
Several publications announced awards for the world's central bankers this week, including a Euromoney award for Lebanon' s central bank governor Riad Salameh for his management of the crisis during Israel's recent onslaught.
GCC central bank to be based in Abu Dhabi
The GCC states have already agreed to base the new GCC central bank in Abu Dhabi, a report said.
China adds other currencies to reserves
Hu Xiaolian, head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), said in an article carried in the latest issue of the Emerging Markets magazine that China has cut the proportion of US dollars assets in its foreign exchange reserve in recent…
China's mushrooming forex reserve
This article published by Asia Times Online on Tuesday 19 September says that although massive levels of foreign exchange reserves represent the strength of an economy, it brings more problems than benefits.
Bank of England Inflation Attitudes Survey, Sep 06
The Bank of England published its September 2006 Inflation Attitudes Survey on Monday 18 September. Britons' expectations of future inflation steadied in August, but were still way above the Bank of England's 2.0 percent inflation target.
ECB's Weber not worried on Iran reserves threat
A threat by the Central Bank of Iran to move its foreign exchange reserves out of dollars into other currencies, notably the euro, should not necessarily be a cause for concern, European Central Bank Governing Council member and Bundesbank President Axel…
ECB's Liikanen sees 'challenge' to cut inflation
Bringing eurozone inflation back down to the European Central Bank's target level of 2 pct or lower will be "a challenge", even over the medium term, said ECB governing council member Erkki Liikanen in an interview published Tuesday 19 September.
Hedge funds take backseat to Asian central banks
According to this article from Bloomberg, published Friday 15 September, hedge funds are taking a backseat to Asian central banks.
Technology diffusion within central banking
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York Staff Paper "Technology diffusion within central banking: The case of real-time gross settlement" examines the diffusion of real-time gross settlement (RTGS) technology across all 174 central banks.