Central Banking
It's cheque out time says Bank of Uganda governor
Lengthy clearing time and limited use mean the days are numbered for cheques in Uganda. The governor of the central bank, Elliot Mwebya, would ban them tomorrow if he could, reports allAfrica.com
114 officials take early retirement from SARB
An offer of an early retirement package from the South African Reserve Bank has met with 114 acceptances from officials over the age 50. The governor, Tito Mboweni, made the announcement of the measure, aimed at saving money, at the bank's AGM in…
Speech by BOJ dep gov Toshiro Muto
Toshiro Muto, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Japan, asks "What Have We Learned from "Unconventional" Market Operations?" and assures that the BOJ will "continue to exert every effort to enhance the transmission mechanism of monetary policy, while…
Court rulings off-tangent, says Philippines cb
The Philippines central bank has attacked court rulings against it as being "off-tangent" and has urged it to reconsider its decision to suspend senior members, including the governor reports the Manila Times.
Fukui: report on currency and monetary control
Statement by Toshihiko Fukui, Governor of the Bank of Japan, concerning the Bank's Semiannual Report on Currency and Monetary Control before the Committee on Financial Affairs, House of Councillors, on July 24, 2003
Duisenberg to skip September rate-setting meeting
Wim Duisenberg, European Central Bank president, will be on a panel of former central bankers on September 4th instead of chairing the rate setting meeting at the ECB, reports Bloomberg.
Rates slashed in Brazil
The Central Bank of Brazil reduced its main lending rate to 22%. The cut of two and a half percentage points was the largest in more than four years, reports the Financial Times.
Indonesia behind on FATF AML deadline
Indonesia looks set to miss an FATF deadline to strengthen its anti-moneylaundering measures and could face penalties on its international financial transactions as a result, a senior central bank official told Dow Jones.
Croatian National Bank Annual Report for 2002
The central bank of Croatia, the Croatian National bank met its goal of price stability with inflation at 2.2% for 2002. This was down on 2001 and in line with European economies, its annual report for 2002 proclaims. Last year also saw the introduction…
Central Bank of China Annual Report 2002
Taiwan experienced a modest recovery in 2002 with GDP growth of 3.54% against a contraction of 2.18% in 2001, according to the central bank's annual report.Foreign excahnge reserves grew by US$39.4 billion to US$161.7 billion over the same period.
Thai central bank upbeat on economy
The economy's future is bright in Thailand, according to the central bank. Governor Pridiyathorn Devakula says he still expects GDP to increase by 5.5% in line with his forecast, reports Stuff.co.nz of New Zealand.
Comments on Basel II
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has published on the BIS website the comments received on the latest version of the long-awaited new capital rules.
BOE's tail between legs over IT fiasco
The Bank of England has approached its various account holders - including foreign central banks - with its tail between its legs after unforeseen problems arose in its payment system, according to the Financial Times. "It is now clear that the new…
Fiji: Pacific currency union out of the question
Fiji has rejected out of hand the idea of partaking in a Pacific currency union, according to the National Business Review. The prime minister said the idea was totally out of tune, far-fetched and unworkable. Australia's PM commented, "I think we should…
The Bank of Canada Review - Summer 2003 issue
The Review includes articles on financial developments in Canada, measuring interest rate expectations and dollarization in Canada.
Egyptian cb reorganised
The Egyptian government has slimmed down the decision-making body of the Central Bank of Egypt, appointing a new seven-member committee to set short-term monetary policy and supervise the banking sector. This structure replaces the previous board of 11…
Broaddus: Fed can maintain low rates
The Fed can maintain an accommodative monetary policy until the US output gap narrows, said Alfred Broaddus, president of the Richmond Fed in a television interview on Wednesday, according to a report by Reuters.
UK MPC unanimous on August rate hold
All nine members of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee voted to leave interest rates on hold at 3.5%earlier this month, minutes of their meeting showed on Wednesday, reports the Financial Times. The quarter point cut in July had been…
Fuss over Mboweni's pay rise
Tito Mboweni, governor of the South African Reserve Bank, has been criticised for the fact that his pay rise of 9% this year turned out to be higher than the inflation target, reports the Mail & Guardian. He does not set his own salary however, the bank…
IMF Survey on global economic outlook
The latest IMF survey has been issued, which states that following its Article IV consultation with the US it concluded that "a durable economic upswing was not a foregone conclusion", raising concerns about fiscal sustainability.
ECB's Solans on global economic statistics
Eugenio Domingo Solans, of the ECB's Executive Board, talks on the importance of reliable and harmonised statistics, without which European Monetary Union would not have been possible, he says. However the "ultimate goal" is to reach a similar degree of…
Bank of England Minutes 6 & 7 August
Bank of England Minutes for meetings of 6 & 7 August in which the MPC voted unanimously to leave rates on hold.
Basel updates know-your-customer rules
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has proposed an undated set of know-your-customer rules desinged to stop large international banks being used by criminals or terrorists.
All's well in the euro zone
Contrary to incessant and repetitive media mutterings about the sickly euro zone economy, it would seem that in fact all is well. So well, in fact, that the ECB has decided that there is really no need for its forthcoming fortnightly meeting because…