Central Banking
Controversy surrounds Venezuela's forex controls
Venezuela's finance minister Tobias Nobrega has announced that he will shortly be revealing to the Venezuelan public the changes to be made in the foreign exchange system, says VHeadline. However central bank board member Domingo Maza Zavala claimed the…
Sir Edward George's Mansion House speech
In his Mansion House speech Sir Edward George, Governor of the Bank of England said that in terms of the overall macro-economy the Monetary Policy Committee framework has served us well. Annual inflation - on the present RPIX target measure - perhaps…
Riksbank new proceedures for discoloured banknotes
New routines for processing discoloured banknotes announced by the Sveriges Riksbank in consultation with banks, 12 June.
Swedish monetary policy and EMU
The Riksbank has published a brochure 'Swedish monetary policy and EMU' which elucidates a number of important, practical monetary policy issues that will arise if Sweden adopts the euro.
Nordic central banks conclude MoU memorandum
The Governors of the central banks of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on financial crisis management at their meeting of 11 June in Iceland.
RBA information on open market operations
After consultation with financial market participants, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has decided to increase the range of information published regarding its open market operations, 19 June.
Economic Review from the Atlanta Fed
The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta has published its Economic Review for the second quarter 2003. The latest edition includes an article titled 'Are On-Line Currencies Virtual Banknotes?'. This article examines the likely success or failure of on-line…
Canada's Dodge on recent economic developments
In a speech on 'Recent Economic Developments and the Conduct of Monetary Policy' David Dodge of the Bank of Canada said looking forward, it remains our view that growth in Canada's economy will be underpinned by the strength of domestic demand and a…
Barbados central bank to launch new book
As the 30th anniversary of the Central Bank of Barbados approaches, the Bank has announced it will publish a book, "Facing Globalisation: Impact and Challenges for Barbados and the Caribbean" on Friday 20 June, according to the Barbados Advocate
Arab central bank council discusses Basel II rules
The Council of the Arab Central Banks met in Bahrain on Wednesday 18 June to discuss the Basel II convention and how it would affect the supervisory role of monitoring the banking industr, according to a report by the Khaleej Times..
Polish central bank chief seeks euro entry in 2007
National Bank of Poland President Leszek Balcerowicz told Bloomberg News in a television interview "Our hopes are for 2007" to adopt the euro and it was worth aiming for early adoption.
Moldova's central bank diversifies forex reserves
The central bank of Moldova has diversified its foreign exchange reserve portfolio to guard against exchange rate risk, according to the ITAR-TASS news agency.
Gretta takes medical delegation to Palestine
Gretta Duisenberg, wife of the President of the European Central Bank, has accompanied a medical delegation to Palestine consisting of five physicians from the Netherlands and Belgiu, according to a report by the Palestine Chronicle.
IMF criticises Ukraine's bank refinancing program
The IMF has criticised the National Bank of Ukraine's long-term bank refinancing program, reports Interfax, saying it may distort the credit market, limit monetary policy flexibility and increase government spending.
Brown pledges not to fix euro entry tests
Gordon Brown said on Wednesday 18 June that the five euro entry tests would not be fixed, in a report in the Financial Times, and that the review in next year's budget of reforms aiming to create convergence between the UK and eurozone economies would…
South Asian ACU considers central clearing house
The Asian Clearing Union meeting in India has proposed the establishment of a central clearing house to facilitate faster risk-free clearing and settlement of transactions among member countries, according to the Daily Star.
Andrew Large to head financial system taskforce
Deputy governor of the Bank of England for Financial Stability, Sir Andrew Large, has been asked to establish a taskforce to examine the possible need for legislative powers in the event of major operational disruption to the UK financial system.
Fed awards contract for bank data modernisation
Regulators award contract in first step to modernize and streamline how federal bank regulators collect, process and distribute quarterly bank financial reports, 17 June.
ECB public consultation announced
The European Central Bank has announced a public consultation aimed at improving the collateral framework of the eurosystem, 11 June.
Bank of England MPC Minutes 4/5 June 2003
Minutes of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee Meeting were released on 18 June for the meeting of 4 and 5 June 2003. The minutes showed that the MPC was split 6-3 in favour of maintaining interest rates at 3.75%. Kate Barker, Marian Bell and…
Ferguson on some issues for Basel II
In a speech on 'Basel II: Some Issues for Implementation' Roger Ferguson of the Federal Reserve said that Basel I must be replaced, particularly in a world whose financial markets are so interrelated that substantial difficulties at any one of the…
Duisenberg on the first lustrum of the ECB
In a speech on 'The first lustrum of the ECB' Wim Duisenberg of the European Central Bank said the Convention on the Future of Europe has not taken over our suggestion to incorporate somewhere in the text the notion of Eurosystem, which stands for the…
Bank of Japan Monthly Report, June 2003
The Bank of Japan published its Monthly Report of Recent Economic and Financial Developments, June 2003, on 13 June. In the report the BOJ said public investment is projected to follow a declining trend, and private consumption is likely to remain weak…
Reconciling Bagehot with Fed's response to Sept 11
Walter Bagehot, an elder statesman of central banking theory, stated that central banks should lend money at penalty rates to prevent bank panics. Yet the Fed lent for next to nothing following 9/11. Why this departure from received central banking…