Central Banking
Bank of Estonia - Annual Report 2004
The Bank of Estonia has published its Annual Report for the year ended 2004. The main factors affecting the global economy over the year were highly volatile oil prices, which repeatedly reached historic highs, and continued extensive imbalance in major…
Greenspan signals more rate rises ahead
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Wednesday 20 July that the U.S. growth outlook was solid and the Fed should keep raising interest rates.
RBI technical committee holds first meeting
The first meeting of the Technical Advisory Committee on Monetary Policy was held on Tuesday 19 July at the Reserve Bank of India, Central Office, Mumbai.
Zimbabwe rules out flexible exchange rate
Zimbabwe's central bank governor Gideon Gono said on Wednesday 20 July that the country will not liberalise the exchange rate soon because of widespread indiscipline in the economy.
China's central bank sees controlled forex reform
The People's Bank of China has said in a statement that reform of the yuan exchange rate will be a controlled and gradual process to be carried out by China alone.
Venezuela passes foreign reserves reform bill
Venezuela's Congress on Tuesday 19 July approved a reform bill giving the government access to $6 billion of the nation's international reserves.
Deutsche Bundesbank Monthly Report, June 2005
The Deutsche Bundesbank published the English version of its June 2005 Monthly Report on 18 July. The report said trade restrictions imposed against China could not be the right answer, as industrial countries derive large advantages from such trade.
Bank of Japan Policy Board Minutes
The Bank of Japan published the minutes from its 14 and 15 June Monetary Policy Meeting on 18 July. The minutes showed the board voted down in mid-June two proposals to cut its liquidity target, including one proposal to reduce it to just 25 trln yen.
BIS's Knight on the year 2004-05 in review
In the speech 'Activities of the Bank: the year 2004-05 in review' given on 27 June, Malcolm Knight of the BIS said the legacy of 75 years of central bank cooperation is remarkably strong.
Minneapolis Fed's Stern on payments system issues
In the speech 'Payments system issues and challenges' given on 15 June, Gary Stern of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis said there is no doubt that payments system change continues apace.
SARB's Guma on the outlook for monetary policy
In the speech 'The outlook for monetary policy' given on 22 June, Dr XP Guma of the South African Reserve Bank said as the formulator and transmitter of monetary policy the central bank needs to communicate its basic objectives, its strategy for…
PBOC official suggests monetary easing idea
A senior Chinese central bank official has said that commercial lenders should ensure that funds continued to flow to healthy companies.
EU regulator warns bank chiefs over consolidation
One of the European Union's most senior banking supervisors has warned against interference in the consolidation of the continent's banking industry.
Luxembourg's Mersch indicates unchanged ECB rate
European Central Bank Governing Council member and Luxembourg central bank president Yves Mersch indicated in an interview the ECB will keep its key rates unchanged despite higher oil prices.
Malaysia's Zeti sees more Islamic bank licenses
Bank Negara Malaysia may issue more Islamic bank licences to local banks and foreigners in a bid to transform the country into and Islamic banking hub, the central bank governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz said.
Greenspan says economy coping well despite oil
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has said that high oil prices could hamper -- but not derail -- economic growth in the United States this year.
Bank of Japan Monthly Report, July 2005
The Bank of Japan published the English version of its July 2005 monthly report on 15 July. The BOJ slightly revised up its monthly assessment of the economy for the first time in eight months, citing upbeat business confidence, rising capital spending…
Trichet on the financial services policy 2005-2010
In the speech 'Financial services policy 2005-2010: the ECB's view' given on 18 July, Jean-Claude Trichet of the ECB said that international agreement would be needed before regulations are imposed on the hedge fund industry.
ECB's biannual information on euro counterfeiting
In the first half of 2005, 293,000 counterfeit euro banknotes were withdrawn from circulation, the European Central Bank said on 15 July.
Malaysia's Aziz on Islamic financial markets
In the speech 'Strengthening linkages in the Islamic financial markets' given on 24 June, Zeti Akhtar Aziz of the Central Bank of Malaysia said the Islamic finance industry should develop a derivatives market that helps investors control risk.
Minneapolis Fed's Stern on 'Too big to fail'
In the speech 'Too big to fail' given on 2 June, Gary Stern of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis said too big to fail (TBTF) is an important public policy issue and one which has received insufficient attention to date.
Austria's Grasser says ECB criticism unhelpful
Austrian Finance Minister Karl-Heinz Grasser said in an interview that criticism of the European Central Bank by some eurozone countries is diverting attention away from Europe's real economic problems.
China easing forex controls to help overseas firms
China will loosen its foreign exchange controls to give more financing support to overseas Chinese companies as the central government moves to encourage domestic firms to invest abroad, the official Financial News reported, citing a government official.
Fed's Yellen says higher rates make sense
It makes sense for the Federal Reserve to keep lifting U.S. interest rates as long as certain assumptions are met, San Francisco Fed President Janet Yellen said in an article in International Economy magazine.