Central Banking
LDP Yamamoto - Won't keep axe over BOJ gov head
JAPAN - Pumping up the pressure on the Bank of Japan to ease credit further to halt deflation, a leading ruling party critic of the central bank has moved a step closer to taking the BOJ Law into his own hands.
BOC governor Dodge wins guarded approval
ARTICLE - After six months on the job, Bank of Canada Governor David Dodge has secured solid, if somewhat tentative, approval ratings from Canada's central bank watchers.
Banks rushing to spruce up risk management
INDIA - Banks are rushing to put in place safeguards and controls to improve their risk management ability. Even as the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) draft guidelines on "risk management systems in banks" were put in October 1999, banks - especially…
Argentine contagion has not spread far says IMF
ARGENTINA - Financial distress in Argentina and Turkey has failed to spread to emerging markets in general despite a bleak outlook for investors, according to the International Monetary Fund, reports the Financial Times, London, 9 August.
World Bank optimistic on Russian reforms
RUSSIA - The World Bank's chief economist for Russia said he was cautiously optimistic about the outlook for the country, but banking reform and economic diversification were key tasks ahead.
C Bank of Brazil to cut number of market dealers
BRAZIL - The Central Bank has decided to reduce the number of its dealers (banks licensed to act for the Central Bank in the market) from 25 to 22, said bank director Sergio Goldenstein.
Japanese regulator punishes Citibank
JAPAN - The Japanese branch of Citibank, a part of Citigroup, the world's largest financial services company, has been punished by Japan's financial services agency, the country's chief financial regulator, for illegally helping clients to conceal losses.
IMF corrects its estimate of Philippine reserves
PHILIPPINES - The International Monetary Fund has acknowledged that the Philippine central bank's gross international reserves position is stronger than the fund's initial estimate, the bank said.
ECB Monthly Bulletin August 2001
REPORT - The European Central Bank has published its Monthly Bulletin for August. In the report the bank voiced concerns about the risks to growth in the eurozone, indicating for the first time that its forecasts for the year might be too optimistic.
Monetary policy in Thailand, Pridiyathorn Devakula
SPEECH - Pridiyathorn Devakula, The Governor of the Bank of Thailand, gave a speech at the APFA 2001 Conference, Bangkok, 24 July. The speech was titled Monetary Policy in Thailand: Current Challenges and Prospects.
IMF Quarterly Emerging Market Financing Report
REPORT - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) yesterday, 8 August, published on its website the latest Emerging Market Financing: Quarterly Report on Developments and Prospects, which covers the second quarter of 2001.
Mervyn King on the International Financial System
SPEECH - Speech by Mervyn King, Deputy Governor of the Bank of England at the 20th Anniversary of the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations.
The Federal Reserve Beige Book
REPORT - The Federal Reserve has published on 8 August its regular Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions by Federal Reserve District known as the Beige Book.
RBI pulls up IFCI for poor supervision
INDIA - The Reserve Bank of India has come down heavily on the Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI) for poor supervision of its loan portfolio, lack of proper asset liability management (ALM), rollover of sticky accounts and improper asset…
Slovenian Co to supply software to Bosnian c bank
BOSNIA - Slovenian computer company Aster signed a contract in the beginning of August 2001 with the Bosnian Central Bank for the implementation of accountancy and bank software.
Manila's Arroyo not pushing for currency control
PHILIPPINES - Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said on 9 August she was not pushing for currency controls but added: "Never say never."
India c bank revises CRR rules for deposits
INDIA - The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has clarified that scheduled commercial banks, excluding regional rural banks, are exempt from the minimum cash reserve ratio (CRR) requirement of three percent on inter-bank term deposits/ term borrowing…
Turkmenistan leader slams central bank chief
TURKMENISTAN - At a government meeting on 6 August, Turkmen President Saparmyrat Niyazov harshly criticized the head of the Central Bank for failing to prevent embezzlement of state funds and for using his position to promote people without merit.
The Outlook for the U.S. Economy
SPEECH - President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Michael Moskow gave a speech to the Priority One Annual Meeting, Crowne Plaza Five Seasons Hotel, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 7 August.
Bank of England Inflation Report - August 2001
REPORT - The Bank of England has published its latest inflation report for August 2001. The report suggests that the UK economy will remain weak in 2001 before starting to recover in 2002.
IMF names head of Ukraine representation
UKRAINE - The IMF has appointed Lorenzo Filiuoli as head of the organisation's representation in Ukraine.
Argentina's int'l reserves fall another 2.2%
ARGENTINA - Argentina's international reserves fell by 2.2% between 1 August and 2, according to latest data issued by the country's central bank.
Tanzania to suspend German currency printer deal
TANZANIA - The Tanzanian government has directed the central bank to rescind its decision to award a German currency printing firm a multi-million dollar tender to print banknote for Tanzania due to a recent report of mass misprinting by the company, the…
Latvian c bank says liquidity returning to normal
LATVIA - Latvia's central bank said on 8 August that interbank liquidity was returning to normal after a months' long squeeze and it was now able to offer more funds to the market.