Central Banking
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…
Speech by Glenn Stevens of the RBA, 16 May
SPEECH - Stevens gave a speech titled 'International Economic and Financial Issues: An RBA Perspective' on Thursday and said that the US economy remained the uncertain factor for world growth this year although it was clear a turning point had happened, …
RBNZ Monetary Policy Statement, May 2002
REPORT - The Reserve Bank of New Zealand on Wednesday published its Monetary Policy Statement for May 2002.
Rapid expansion of OTC derivatives market
REPORT - Regular OTC Derivatives Market Statistics, The Global OTC Derivatives Market at end-December 2001, 15 May.
Speech by V Bergstrom, Sveriges Riksbank, 15 May
SPEECH - In the speech titled 'Forecasts and business cycles' Deputy Governor Bergstrom said in recent years the Swedish economy has been subjected to relatively large disturbances. The Asian and Russian crisis, as well as severe fluctuations on the…
Research from the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank
RESEARCH - How High Tech is the Tenth District? by Chad Wilkerson.