Central Banking
Dissenters are becoming dying breed at the Fed
FEATURE - It appears the imposing figure of Alan Greenspan at meetings of the US Federal Reserve is more than enough to persuade other members to keep their mouths shut. Report from Bloomberg news agency, New York.
Brazil central banker dampens rate cut talk
BRAZIL - Brazil Central Bank President Arminio Fraga on Friday watered down his own remarks on the possibility of future interest rate cuts, just as the market was doubting any such decision next week.
Policy flaw at heart of the ECB
FEATURE - Keynes eroded the firmly-held idea that there were mysteries about central banking which justified secrecy about how it was meant to work. The process of erosion has taken a long time. This article was written by Professor Sir Alan Peacock in…
Fed proposes role change as emergency bank lender
US - The Federal Reserve yesterday proposed a change in its capacity as lender of last resort, essentially suggesting that credit markets have more of an influence in determining its lending rate on emergency loans to cash-strapped banks.
Aznar urges Argentina to bite IMF bullet
SPAIN - Spain's prime minister bluntly urged debt-strapped Argentina on Friday to take "painful decisions" and secure a deal with the International Monetary Fund as fast as possible.
Swiss fight for banking secrecy
SWITZERLAND - Swiss officials are digging in to defend secrecy laws synonymous with the country's huge banking industry before talks with the European Union expected in June.
Speech by Wim Duisenberg, ECB President, 16 May
SPEECH - Duisenberg said in a speech titled 'Challenges to the ECB's monetary policy' that he believes all the institutional preconditions for a stable currency and macroeconomic success are in place in Europe today.
Speech by Wim Duisenberg, ECB President, 9 May
SPEECH - The European Central Bank president was in Aachen, Germany, today to receive the annual international Charlemagne prize. But Duisenberg's aides rush to make clear that Aachen's city fathers have not actually chosen an individual this year but a…
Speech by Sirkka Hamalainen of the ECB, 30 Apr
SPEECH - In the speech titled 'Consolidation in the European securities infrastructure - what is needed?' Hamalainen said that "By eliminating currency segmentation, the introduction of the euro has naturally been a major factor in the integration of…
Issues in Electronic Banking: An Overview
RESEARCH - IMF Policy Discussion Paper, Monetary and Exchange Affairs Department, prepared by Andrea Schaechter, March 2002.
The single monetary policy in the euro area
REPORT - ECB publication, General documentation on Eurosystem monetary policy instruments and procedures, 26 April, (update of the November 2000 edition).
Bank of England Report
REPORT - The Bank of England's Operations in the Sterling Money Markets, 16 May.
Bank of Canada Review, Spring 2002
RESEARCH - The Bank of Canada Review is a quarterly publication that contains economic commentary and feature articles. The Spring 2002 edition was released on 16 May.
Speech by Sushil Wadhwani, Bank of England, 16 May
SPEECH - In a speech titled 'The MPC: Some Further Challenges' Wadhwani slammed the MPC's forecasting methods as flawed and, noted as an arch dove, said interest rates had been set too high over the past five years. He also rebuked deputy governor Mervyn…
Brash makes his first political speech
FEATURE - Prospective National MP Don Brash has made his first political speech since standing down as Reserve Bank of New Zealand governor.
AIB signs new risk-control agreement
US - The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, the Maryland Commissioner of Financial Regulation and the Central Bank of Ireland have signed a written agreement with Allied Irish Banks, Allfirst Financial and Allfirst Bank setting out the steps to be taken…
Polish gov't calls for exchange rate discussion
POLAND - Following a government session on Tuesday, finance minister Marek Belka called the central bank's Monetary Policy Council (RPP) to discuss potential proposals aimed at abandoning the policy of no-intervention on the foreign exchange market, and…
World wide search for New Zealand's c bank chief
NEW ZEALAND - The Reserve Bank has appointed headhunter Signium International to scour the world for a new Governor.
ECB Padoa-Schioppa - 'excessive' talk on inflation
ITALY - European Central Bank board member Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa said the central bank has to monitor with attention the current level of euro-zone consumer prices which remain above 2.0 pct year-on-year, but believes it is "excessive" to describe the…
Banco de Brasilia fails central bank online test
BRAZIL - Brazilian bank Banco de Brasilia topped the central bank's online consumer complaint ranking in April, knocking financial group Grupo Santander Brasil from first to second place, according to information published on the central bank's site.
Yugoslav c bank converts German marks into euros
YUGOSLAVIA - About 7.9 billion German marks have been converted into euros, Yugoslav National Bank Governor Mladjan Dinkic said on Thursday.
Lithuania thwarts mafia attempt to launder money
LITHUANIA - The Bank of Lithuania, the country's central bank, has prevented a large-scale money laundering attempt by declining an application from a French national to make a huge investment in the country's fourth-largest bank, Snoras, Lithuanian…
Argentina central bank denies chairman to resign
ARGENTINA - The central bank has dismissed rumours that the resignation of its chairman, Mario Blejer, was imminent.
Outgoing MPC member criticises B of E rates record
UK - The Bank of England would have delivered a significantly more impressive performance on both growth and inflation if interest rates had been kept lower over the past few years, according to research carried out by Sushil Wadhwani, a soon to depart…