Central Banking
Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin, Spring 2006
The Bank of England published its Quarterly Bulletin for Spring 2006 on Monday. This quarter, one article reports the key findings from a Bank-commissioned survey on the state of household finances.
Bank of Japan Monthly Report, March 2006
The Bank of Japan published the English version of its March 2006 monthly report on Monday. In the report the BOJ left its upbeat assessment of the country's economic situation unchanged for the second straight month.
Preliminary report on security of banknote storage
Sir John Gieve, Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, on Friday 10 March delivered to Mervyn King, the Governor, his confidential preliminary report on the security of banknote storage.
Riksbank to publish three Inflation Reports a year
At its meeting on Thursday 9 March the Executive Board of Sweden's Riksbank decided that in future three Inflation Reports would be published a year instead of the current four.
Monetary policy: a journey from theory to practice
The European Central Bank is holding a colloquium in honour of Otmar Issing in Frankfurt am Main, 16 - 17 March 2006. Contributors include Mervyn King, Donald Kohn, Lars Svensson and Allan Meltzer.
UAE considers reserves switch to euros
The United Arab Emirates is considering moving 10 percent of its foreign currency reserves out of U.S. dollars and into the euro, the Khalij Times reported Monday 13 March.
BoJ's Mizuno says rate hikes necessary - report
Atsushi Mizuno, a Bank of Japan policy board member, has said that raising interest rates is necessary to have some flexibility in managing monetary policy, Jiji Press reported.
Trichet praises BoJ's communication
The Bank of Japan's communication with financial markets was "very, very good," European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said Monday 13 March. He also said independence was of "extreme importance" for the National Bank of Poland.
Comment: Balcerowicz battles on
The president of the National Bank of Poland (NBP), Leszek Balcerowicz, and the ministry of finance are at loggerhead over a hotly debated bank merger. The government wants the deal blocked, Balcerowicz refuses to do so. Even as his first term draws to…
Bank of Japan takes big risk with policy change
According to this article published on Friday 10 March, by ditching its quantitative easing policy the Bank of Japan may be making one of the biggest mistakes in its history.
Canada's Macklem on renewing the IMF
In the speech 'Renewing the IMF: Some lessons from modern central banking' given on 9 March Tiff Macklem of the Bank of Canada said the IMF should also play a role in setting the "rules of the game" in the international financial system, including…
Norges Bank - Annual Report 2004
According to Norges Bank's Annual Report 2004, after a moderate slowdown in the first half of 2003, growth in the Norwegian economy picked up markedly in 2004.
Illiquidity in the interbank payment system
The March 2006 New York Fed Staff Report "Illiquidity in the interbank payment system following wide-scale disruptions" shows how the interbank payment system can become illiquid following wide-scale disruptions.
Bernanke on community banking & bank supervision
In the speech 'Community banking and community bank supervision in the twenty-first century' given on 8 March Ben Bernanke of the Federal Reserve said the rapid growth in commercial real-estate loans made by community banks bears watching.
Keep politics out of Bank of Spain, says PP leader
People's Party (PP) leader Mariano Rajoy said on Wednesday 8 March that he does not agree that Miguel Angel Fernandez Ordoez, the current secretary of state for internal revenue, should be the next governor of the Bank of Spain.
Central Bank of Turkey governor named - report
A press report on Thursday 9 March said the replacement has been chosen for Sureyya Serdengecti, after he resigns on 13 March as governor of Turkey's central bank.
Malaysia's Zeti gets new five-year term
Malaysian central bank governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz's term in office has been extended for another five years, effective from 1 May, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Finance on Friday 10 March.
Comment: Unravelling the BoJ message
The Bank of Japan put an end to its "quantitative easing" policy last week. Although the timing was slightly ahead of expectations, the move itself was widely anticipated. Attention has now turned to unravelling the implications of the central bank's new…
Bundesbank's Weber on the role of interest rates
In the speech 'The role of interest rates in theory and practice - How useful is the concept of the natural real rate of interest for monetary policy?' given on 9 March Axel Weber of the Bundesbank said setting interest rates against a benchmark estimate…
Fukui: Zero rate policy can't last 'indefinitely'
Bank of Japan governor, Toshihiko Fukui, said on Friday 10 March that the central bank won't keep borrowing costs at zero forever.
China considering expansion of HK yuan business
The Chinese government may allow Hong Kong companies to issue yuan-denominated bonds and settle trade transactions using the yuan, in order to expand yuan business in the city, Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China (PBoC) said, according…
NBP chief defends decision over meeting
Leszek Balcerowicz, governor of the national bank of Poland, rejected accusations on Friday 10 march that he broke the law by excluding a government official from a regulatory meeting on Italian lender UniCredit's deal to buy Polish Bank BPH.
Bank of Canada announces research award
The Bank of Canada announced on Friday 10 March that Professor Gregor Smith of Queen's University is the recipient of the Bank's Research Fellowship for 2006.
Central Bank of Oman - Annual Report 2004
According to the Central Bank of Oman's Annual Report 2004, the macroeconomic environment of Oman in 2004 was characterized by impressive economic growth, low inflation, financial stability, and most importantly, steady progress towards diversification…