Central Banking
Croatian payment settlement institute to be axed
CROATIA - The Croatian Payment Settlement Institute (ZAP) is to be abolished. Its functions will be divided between the central bank and commercial banks.
World Bank hires senior adviser to president
US - The World Bank has appointed Yukio Yoshimura as senior advisor to the president of the World Bank Group, James Wolfensohn.
Iran's central bank governor returned to office
IRAN - Iranian President Mohammad Khatami is scheduled to announce his second cabinet next week. Unofficial reports say that Khatami's next cabinet would not have serious changes in its political makeup, despite the change in characters.
Bank's legal might cited as grounds for appeal
UK - The fact that orders by the Bank of Thailand to financial institutions carry the equivalent weight of the law could serve as the basis for an appeal by the government in the Pin Chakkaphak extradition case.
Markets now more resistant to contagion - BIS head
INTERVIEW - Painstaking efforts to strengthen the international financial system are beginning to pay off with global markets resisting contagion from worries over Argentina's debt, according to the general manager of the Bank for International…
BIS International Banking Statistics - Q1 2001
EUROPE - The latest report by the Bank for International Settlements reveals a significant increase in lending to offshore centres in the Caribbean last year, which could be the result of increased hedge-fund activity.
Credit card growth blamed for spiralling debt
AUSTRALIA - The proliferation of credit cards has contributed to the bad management of personal debt, according to NRMA Building Society research.
Zimbabwe c bank says support plan aids gold mines
ZIMBABWE - Zimbabwe's Reserve Bank said today, 31 July, a support programme for gold producers introduced earlier this year had helped boost production in a sector where high costs had threatened several mines with collapse.
Emerging markets - round up the usual suspects
CENTRALBANKNET'S SPECIAL REPORT - A little local difficulty or the beginning of a global shake-down? First Turkey, then Argentina - next stop Brazil? Or south-east Asia? The omens are not good as emerging markets from Poland to Pretoria feel the effect…
The Origins and Evolution of Central Banking
SPEECH - President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Jerry Jordan, at the Central Bank Institute Conference, Renaissance Cleveland Hotel, Cleveland, Ohio, 21 May.
Strains in the eurozone
ARTICLE - The Financial Times in London published an article on 30 July by Christopher Taylor, a visiting fellow at the National Institute of Economic and Social research. He was chief adviser in the European division of the Bank of England.
Central Europe govt's on collision with c-banks
CZECH REPUBLIC - With elections due in all three of central Europe's leading economies in the next year, governments seeking to raise public sector spending risk bruising rows with their central banks.
Bulgaria c-bank fx reserves down on Brady payment
BULGARIA - The foreign exchange assets of the Bulgarian National Bank's (BNB) Issue Department fell by a net 167.3 million euros ($146.3 million) after Bulgaria paid coupon on its Brady bonds, a central bank official said on 30 July.
Brazil easily beats IMF primary surplus goal in H1
BRAZIL - Brazil posted a primary budget surplus of 30.42 billion reals ($12.47 billion) in the first half of the year, sharply beating an IMF-agreed target for the surplus with 8.9 billion reals to spare, the Central Bank said today, 30 July.
CNB will publish meeting records after six years
CZECH REPUBLIC - The Czech National Bank (CNB) has decided to publish the records of the bank board meetings. The central bank reacts to the interest and specific needs of economic analysts, economics students and historians of the Czech economy or of…
PBOC cracks down misconduct in securities, banking
CHINA - The People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank, plans to focus its efforts on cracking down on misconduct within the financial markets.
Thai c bank delays new forex reporting rules
THAILAND - The Bank of Thailand won't issue the details of its revised foreign exchange reporting requirements until some time in August, a bank official said 30 July.
Sri Lanka c bank to slowly lift forex restrictions
SRI LANKA - Sri Lanka's central bank said 30 July it will gradually lift several restrictions on the foreign exchange market that were imposed when the rupee was floated in January.
Paper - Reserve Bank of Australia 2001 Conference
RESEARCH - A paper titled 'Setting Monetary Policy in East Asia: Goals, Developments and Institutions' was presented at the RBA's 2001 conference, Future Directions for Monetary Policies in East Asia.
Meyer Testimony - Federal deposit insurance reform
SPEECH - Federal reserve Board Governor Laurence H. Meyer testified on 26 July before the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit of the Committee on Financial Services, U.S. House of Representatives.
Paper - Reserve Bank of Australia 2001 Conference
RESEARCH - A paper titled 'Three Perspectives on an Australasian Monetary Union' was presented at the RBA's 2001 conference, Future Directions for Monetary Policies in East Asia.
Paper - Reserve Bank of Australia 2001 Conference
RESEARCH - A paper titled 'The Case for Inflation Targeting in East Asian Countries' was presented at the RBA's 2001 conference, Future Directions for Monetary Policies in East Asia.
Blair and Brown set euro vote timetable
UK - Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have drawn up a timetable for a euro referendum and are preparing to make a judgment, probably next year, about whether to call one, reports the Financial Times in London, 27 June.
Five months to E-day and euro use still limited
EUROPE - Five months before the introduction of euro notes and coins, the use of the single currency remains limited in almost every country in the 12-nation eurozone, the European Commission warned yesterday, 27 July.