Central Banking
Philippine cb should lobby for more power says IMF
PHILIPPINES - The International Monetary Fund is pressing the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the central bank in the Philippines, to lobby for changes in the country's banking laws in a bid to strengthen the central bank's supervisory powers over banks.
ECB raises inflation forecast
GERMANY - The European Central Bank on Thursday raised its projection for inflation this year, underlining pessimism about prices that suggests the bank may raise interest rates later this year.
IMF mission arrives in Argentina
ARGENTINA - An International Monetary Fund mission landed in Argentina on Thursday to discuss the possibility of resuming billions of dollars in credit after a six-month freeze, which could open the door to other aid sources and help stop contagion to…
BoJ keeps monetary policy unchanged
JAPAN - Japan's central bank left its monetary policy unchanged Wednesday, sticking to its stance of freeing up cash to circulate through the financial system, reports Dow Jones.
Korean governor hints at rate rises
KOREA - Bank of Korea governor Park Seung signalled on Wednesday that more interest rate rises might be in the pipeline as he stressed the need to curb price pressures in a rapidly expanding economy.
Vote of confidence for Brazil governor
BRAZIL - The Brazilian government's candidate for presidential elections, Jose Serra, said on Tuesday he hopes to keep Arminio Fraga as president of the central bank if he wins the October vote.
Irish growth rate set to dip says CB
IRELAND - Economic growth in Ireland is set to halve in 2002, but next year should see an upturn, according to the country's central bank.
Anti-money laundering rules in Pakistan
PAKISTAN - The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has made it mandatory for banks and financial institutions to enforce 'Know Your Customer' (KYC) rules to counter the threat of money laundering, official sources in the central bank said on Tuesday.
Dutch central bank move supports gold
NETHERLANDS - Jan Lamers of the Netherlands Bank is the first central banker to confirm that the volume of gold being lent to the market has started to decline.
Polish governor's bodyguards removed
ARTICLE - The relationship between the government and central bank in Poland continues to deteriorate. A full apology from the government is in order over the latest episode, argues an editorial in the Warsaw Business Journal.
Speech by Fed governor Susan S. Bies, 11 June
SPEECH - Remarks by Susan S. Bies on bank performance and corporate governance at the 112th Annual Meeting of the Tennessee Bankers Association, Hot Springs, Virginia.
Speech by Tony Latter, HKMA, 12 June
SPEECH- Tony Latter, deputy chief executive, Hong Kong Monetary Authority on Hong Kong's currency board today and the unexpected challenge of deflation. Have central banks become a victim of their own success?
Speech by Jaime Caruana, B of Spain, 24 April
SPEECH - Speech by Jaime Caruana, governor of the Bank of Spain, at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, on asset price bubbles and the implications for monetary, regulatory and international policies.
Speech by Fed governor Susan S. Bies, 10 June
SPEECH - Fed governor Susan S. Bies delivered a speech on 'Lessons to be Re-Learned from Recent Breakdowns in Corporate Accounting' to the Institute of International Bankers in New York on 10 June. She attempted to outline what should be re-learned from…
Speech by Eugenio Domingo Solans, ECB, 11 June
SPEECH - Eugenio Domingo Solans, member of the Governing Council and Executive Board of the ECB, gave a speech titled 'Exchange rate policies in the accession process' to a conference in Tallinn on 'Alternative Exchange Rate Regimes in the Globalised…
Gold in the IMF: A Factsheet
FACTSHEET - The IMF has published a factsheet detailing what its gold holdings are, how it acquired them, what its policy is on gold, and how and when it has used its gold in the past.
IMF Survey, Vol. 31, No. 11, 10 June
SURVEY - The latest fortnightly issue of the IMF Survey includes articles on world military spending, Independent East Timor, the pros and cons of tax incentives, financial development and economic growth, as well as interviews with John Shoven on US…
Preventing country crises and corporate failures
LETTER - The most recent 'Economic Letter' published on the San Francisco Fed's website concerns 'Country Crises and Corporate Failures: Lessons for Prevention and Management?', by Reuven Glick of the Center for Pacific Basin Monetary and Economic…
Fed ends sanctions against Bank of New York
USA - The Federal Reserve has announced it is terminating its sanction against the Bank of New York because the bank has complied with its agreement to correct alleged deficiencies in preventing money laundering.
Breather won by Bank Indonesia on $1.3bn loans
INDONESIA - Bank Indonesia has reached a rescheduling agreement with the London Club of commercial creditors to extend the repayment period of loans worth around $300 million to 17.5 years, while other loans worth $1 billion will be extended for 10…
Reform of Taiwan cb board may improve independence
TAIWAN - Taiwan's cabinet has submitted a reform plan for the board of directors at the Central Bank of China, which focuses on the bank's independent status. Once the amendment is passed by the legislature, the central bank will maintain its supervisory…
BOK considers redenomination of currency
KOREA - The Bank of Korea is studying ways to reform the present currency unit system by issuing new won notes and coins, in a move to re-denominate the won downward and upgrade its value. This will involve shaving one or two zeros off the won's face…
Egypt cb opens new check clearing house
EGYPT - The new electronic Cairo Clearing House at the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) was inaugurated yesterday. Its services will be available to banks nationwide and its computerized system will be capable of clearing up to 100,000 cheques a day.
UAE cb planning supervisory system for hawala
UAE - The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates is devising a licencing and supervisory system for hawala and will host a conference next year to follow up recommendations of an international conference held last May.