Central Banking
Bank of England told to release BCCI case files
The Bank of England lost an appeal on Monday 1 March to keep sensitive internal documents under wraps in a lawsuit seeking almost £1 billion ($2.7 billion) over its role in the world's biggest banking fraud.
Greenspan says yuan float now would pose risks
A letter from Alan Greenspan to the US Senate has said that a free-floating yuan could threaten the world economy and destabilise the Chinese banking system if capital controls are removed.
China plans central bank inspection
China plans to launch an extensive inspection of the central bank as well as three policy banks and five commercial banks, in an effort to strengthen state supervision over China's ailing banking sector, the official news agency said.
SARB removes apartheid's forex overhang
South African Reserve Bank governor Tito Mboweni said on Monday 1 March that the SARB last month closed out its oversold forward book to eliminate a structural overhang in the economy caused by apartheid.
Has the ECB failed to meet its objectives?
Just over five years after its establishment the ECB has failed to meet its stated objective of maintaining price stability, according to an outspoken report published by the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)today.
RBA's Edey on the international economy
In a speech on 'The International Economy' given on 27 February, Malcolm Edey of the Reserve Bank of Australia said the world economy does seem to be recovering after three years of underperformance in the early part of this decade but the outlook is…
Padoa-Schioppa on building on the euro's success
In a speech on 'Building on the euro's success' given on 26 February, Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa of the ECB said the rampant euro proved the eurozone was doing its bit to ease global imbalances and scalded Asia for fixed currency regimes. By operating a peg…
Sri Lanka cb implements RTGS and SSS system
With the implementation of the integrated RTGS/SSS system, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) has marked another milestone in the country's payment reforms.
Greenspan on intellectual property rights
In a speech on 'Intellectual property rights' given on 27 February, Alan Greenspan of the Federal Reserve discussed the necessity of protecting property rights in general and cited the American "Wild West" and former Soviet Union as two cases in which a…
Putin pledges full convertibility for rouble
President Vladimir Putin refused to predict further changes in the dollar rate, at a meeting with university students on Friday 27 February, but he did promise to make all efforts to strengthen the rouble.
India's RTGS launch likely by end of March
The Reserve Bank of India has now proposed "hopefully" to launch its Real Time Gross Settlement System before the end of March.
Bahrain strengthens anti money-laundering laws
Bahrain is developing anti-money laundering (AML) laws for the insurance sector and capital market players as part of a drive to tighten up on the industry and remove any threat that could jeopardize monetary and banking policies, a central bank official…
China's Premier suggests end to yuan's dollar peg
China's Premier Wen Jiabao has said that the country is working toward a more flexible exchange rate mechanism for the value of the yuan, the first clear statement that the government aims to end the currency's nine-year fixed link to the dollar.
IMF's Koehler confident on Brazil's growth
IMF Managing Director Horst Koehler said on Sunday 29 February that he had a "good feeling about Brazil", expressing confidence in the country's growth prospects for this year.
Reynders says ECB may have room for manoeuvre
Belgian Finance Minister Didier Reynders has said that it is up to the European Central Bank to stimulate Europe's sluggish economic recovery, because widening budget deficits prevent governments from boosting spending.
The bad news - Greenspan must go!
Chairman Greenspan's busy week of testimony and speeches didn't go without its critics. Republican Senator Bernie Sanders sent a letter to President "Dubya" asking for Greenspan's removal.
The good news - White House wants Greenspan again
The White House repeated on Tuesday that President George W. Bush will support another term for Alan Greenspan as Federal Reserve Chairman.
Bank of France unions call for worker walk-out
Six unions representing employees at Banque de France, the French central bank (CFDT, CGT, FO, CFTC, SIC and SNA), called staff out on a one-hour work stoppage on Tuesday 24 February.
Fazio faces fraud investigation
Governor Antonio Fazio of the Bank of Italy is under investigation in connection with a probe of alleged fraud in the sale of securities by an Italian bank.
Spain enters race for ECB seat
Spain has entered the frame proposing a candidate for a place on the governing council of the European Central Bank against both Ireland and Belgium, who have already thrown their hats into the ring.
Bernanke on euro at five: Ready for a global role?
In a speech on 'Euro at Five: Ready for a Global Role?' given on 26 February, Ben Bernanke of the Federal Reserve said that the euro so far has "posed less of a challenge" to the international dominance of the U.S. dollar than analysts expected when the…
Fed's Bies on the economic outlook
In a speech on 'The Economic Outlook and the State of Household and Business Finances' given on 26 February, Susan Schmidt Bies of the Federal Reserve said that the Fed can afford to wait a while before it must "inevitably" consider raising short-term…
Gerashchenko lashes Russian central bank
Former Russian Central Bank Chairman Viktor Gerashchenko has said he would sack the current management of the bank if he could. Appearing on Russian breakfast TV he said they did many things wrong because they are non-professionals.
NY Fed central bank survey on foreign exchange
The Statistics Function will host a half day training seminar on the Central Bank Survey on Foreign Exchange and Derivatives Market Activity reports on 10 March. The survey is conducted every three years by the New York Fed.