Central Banking
Fed's Olson says loan standards easing
In a speech given on Friday 3 June Mark Olson of the Federal Reserve said some underwriting standards held by U.S. community banks for commercial real estate lending have been "under assault" by competitive pressure to win borrowers.
ECB's Noyer rejects euro ditching talk
European Central Bank Governing Council Member Christian Noyer has dismissed talk suggesting countries may leave the euro and said the rejection of the European Union's constitution by two of its founding members did not threaten the single currency.
IMF's Rato says don't rule out ECB rate cut
The head of the International Monetary Fund has said a rate cut in the Eurozone cannot be ruled out if the EU economy weakens.
Russia 'won't react to rumours' over euro
A senior Russian central bank official said on Monday 6 June that reports Italy and Germany could drop the euro were "just rumours," and said Russia has no intention of changing its reserves structure.
Bahrain hosts Islamic banking supervision course
The Bahrain Monetary Agency (BMA) and the Bahrain Institute of Banking & Finance (BIBF) is currently holding a five-day course on Islamic banking supervision.
IADB president announces his resignation
The president of the Inter-American Development Bank, Enrique V. Iglesias, on Tuesday 31 May informed the IDB Board of Executive Directors that he is resigning his post, effective September 30, 2005.
IMF's Rato pays tribute to James Wolfensohn
Rodrigo de Rato, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), issued a statement on Tuesday 31 Maypaying tribute to James D. Wolfensohn, the outgoing President of the World Bank.
Optimist joins ECB in gloomy times
This article profiles Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, who joined the European Central Bank's executive board on 1 June. All indications suggest that Bini Smaghi, far from rocking the boat, is firmly on board with the ECB's current approach to monetary policy, it…
You wanna be a central banker? Think again
Following the events in Thailand, this article published Friday 3 June suggests central bank governors around the world probably aren't sleeping well this week. What if this short-sighted, punish-the-central-banker mindset spread to other realms, it asks.
Ex-Thai central bank chief ordered to repay $4.6bn
The former governor of Thailand's central bank, Rerngchai Marakanond, was ordered on Tuesday 2 June to pay back the Bt186bn (US$4.57bn) spent in the futile defence of the currency on the eve of the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
Canada's Dodge on international economics
In the speech 'Reflections on the international economic and monetary order' given on 30 May David Dodge of the Bank of Canada warned China and other Asian nations that unless they let their currencies rise, they risk retaliation from the United States…
Sweden's Bergstrom on monetary policy
In the speech given on 26 May Villy Bergstrom of the Sveriges Riksbank said that given the economic situation, employment has shown unusually weak growth and unemployment is at a relatively high level, by Swedish standards.
Bundesbank's Remsperger on macroeconomic risks
In the speech 'Macroeconomic risk and policy responses' given on 27 May Hermann Remsperger of the Deutsche Bundesbank said few central bankers would dispute the need to firmly anchor long-run inflation expectations at a low level. However, there may be…
Issing on the monetary pillar of the ECB
In the speech 'The monetary pillar of the ECB' given on 3 June Otmar Issing of the ECB said the ECB's monetary policy has been an undisputed success since the launch of the euro in 1999.
Turkmen central bank chief fired for embezzlement
Shekersoltan Muhammedova, the acting governor of Turkmenistan's central bank, was sacked this week for "grave shortcomings and embezzlement of state funds," according to the BBC Monitoring Service which quoted the translation of a report on Turkmen TV…
Are emerging market countries learning to float?
The IMF Working Paper "Are emerging market countries learning to float?" published 1 June finds that exchange rate flexibility in emerging market countries has increased over the past decade.
Italian minister suggests return to lira
An Italian government minister has suggested the country should consider bringing back the euro.
Gramlich unsure on what 'inning' Fed is in
Federal Reserve governor Edward Gramlich said on Friday 3 June that he did not know what stage the US central bank was at in its interest-rate rise cycle.
BNB chief says euro breakaway idea 'absurd'
Belgian National Bank governor Guy Quaden dismissed as 'an absurd scenario' talk that some EU countries will break away from the euro zone in the wake of the French and Dutch rejections of Europe's constitution.
SARB says inflation to stay in target
The South African Reserve Bank said Thursday 2 June that inflation will remain inside the 3-6 percent target band and the economy had entered a phase of high growth.
Iraq's small coins going unused
Millions of dinar coins minted by the Central Bank of Iraq are going unused as banks are reluctant to accept them, and high inflation means there is less and less need for small denominations.
Canada's Jenkin's on adapting to global change
In the speech 'Adapting to global change: A Canadian perspective' given on 1 June, Paul Jenkins of the Bank of Canada said the central bank will have to raise interest rates as the economy accelerates this year and next to thwart inflation.
New York Fed's Foreign Exchange Operations Report
The U.S. monetary authorities did not intervene in the foreign exchange markets during the January - March quarter, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said in its Treasury and Federal Reserve Foreign Exchange Operations quarterly report to the U.S…
ECB's Financial Stability Review, June 2005
The European Central Bank published its June 2005 Financial Stability Review on 31 May. In the report the ECB said the outlook for financial stability is more mixed than six months ago.