Central Banking
Thai bank supports action against ex-chief
THAILAND - Thailand's central bank has apparently endorsed plans to take punitive legal action against Rerngchai Marakanond, the institution's former governor, for exhausting the country's foreign exchange reserves to defend the baht against currency…
Argentina restrict amount of cash bank withdrawals
ARGENTINA - The Argentine government, desperate to stop a hemorrhaging of funds from the banking system, capped cash withdrawals from banks and limited the amount residents may transfer abroad.
Singapore finalising licences for foreign banks
MALAYSIA - Singapore will announce the winners of the Qualifying Full Bank (QFB) and wholesale bank licences in the next few weeks, in a further move to open the domestic financial sector to foreign players, according to a report.
Economic Chaos - Who's killing Argentina's Peso?
ARTICLE - Until recently, stable money and sound banking were the two pillars of an otherwise weak Argentine republic. As Argentina confronts its fourth year of recession and finds itself bankrupt, many are now blaming its monetary regime, which…
Greenspan says little doubt euro a sound currency
US - A belief that U.S. productivity, or output per worker, will continue to outstrip Europe's accounts for more robust demand for dollars over euros, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said in a speech on Friday.
BOE - Delivery/ payment system
UK - Bank of England Executive Director for Financial Market Operations, Ian Plenderleith, said Thursday the new delivery versus payment system for the settlement of securities trade in the U.K. was a success.
ECB post findings on how rate moves affect economy
GERMANY - Ordinary Europeans may quickly get used to the new euro notes and coins that begin circulating in a few weeks, but it may be years before the European Central Bank fully understands the functioning of the new economy created by the common…
Egyptian central bank cancels import restrictions
EGYPT - The Central Bank of Egypt said Monday it had cancelled import restriction proposals that were designed to protect the declining Egyptian pound and boost the sluggish economy.
Wim to face the music
GERMANY - The temperature is rising in the dispute over whether Wim Duisenberg will step down as president of the European Central Bank.
President appoints new Bank of Finland member
FINLAND - Finnish President Tarja Halonen on Friday appointed a surprise candidate to the Bank of Finland's board after an embarrassed government dropped the nominations of two veteran politicians.
BOJ to cut annual salary for executives by 0.4%
JAPAN - The Bank of Japan (BOJ) said Friday it will cut the annual salary of its executives for this fiscal year by 0.4% from the previous year.
Speech by Laurence Meyer of the Federal Reserve
SPEECH - Remarks by Governor Laurence H. Meyer of the Federal Reserve Board before the National Association of Business Economics, St. Louis, Missouri, 27 November.
Speech by David Gruen of the RBA
SPEECH - Speech by David Gruen, Head of Economic Research at the Reserve Bank of Australia at the 2001 Comview Conference of the Victorian Commercial Teachers Association, Melbourne, 27 November.
Speech by Eugenio Domingo Solans of the ECB
SPEECH - Speech delivered by Prof. Eugenio Domingo Solans, member of the Governing Council and of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank (ECB), at the Chapelle des Brigittines, Brussels, 19 November.
Speech by Klaus Liebscher, Austrian central bank
SPEECH - Speech by Klaus Liebscher, Governor of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank, at the symposium "The role of international institutions in globalisation", Centre for the Study of International Institutions CSI, Innsbruck, 16 November.
Economists can indeed 'conclude otherwise' on euro
LETTER - A letter published in the London edition of the Financial Times on 29 November.
SNB Roth - Franc strength likely to be temporary
AUSTRIA - The president of the Swiss National Bank, Jean-Pierre Roth, said Thursday that he expects the franc's current strength to be temporary, and made it clear that the Swiss monetary policy stance may deviate from that of the European Central Bank.
Morand leaves Chile's central bank
CHILE - After five years at Chile's Central Bank, Felipe Morand will leave as head of studies at the end of the year for a visiting post at Stanford University.
Brazil faces tough task on reform
BRAZIL - Time is running out on the Brazilian government's efforts to garner support for key reforms as President Fernando Henrique Cardoso starts his final year in office.
Thai central bank eases collateral rules
THAILAND - Central Bank rules had been eased to allow financial institutions to use internal appraisal for collateral of small-sized debtors, rather than external independent appraisal firms, Bank of Thailand assistant governor Thirachai…
Thai Rerngchai - sinner or scapegoat?
ARTICLE - Rerngchai Marakanond, a former Bank of Thailand governor, is about to pay a dear price for his central role in the futile baht defence in 1997. Is he a scapegoat?
Father of Latvian currency to resign
LATVIA - The father of Latvia's national currency will resign as head of the central bank on 30 November, but analysts and officials expect him to leave a legacy of stability and a well-run Bank of Latvia.
Egyptian draft law for independent c bank approved
EGYPT - Egypt's cabinet approved Tuesday a draft law to make the Central Bank of Egypt independent from the now-defunct economy ministry, according to a cabinet official.
Banks deal with coin shortage in Australia
AUSTRALIA - Banks in some parts of Australia are experiencing coin shortages. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), which recently implemented a new coin distribution system, blames the shortfall on teething problems with the new system.