Central Banking
Kuwait to study rate changes after moves abroad
Kuwait's central bank, under pressure to cut the discount rate to help the economy and a sagging stock market, said on Tuesday it would decide on changes after studying the impact of expected interest rate cuts abroad.
ECB's Quaden sees interesting debate on M3 goal
European Central Bank governing council member Guy Quaden said on Tuesday he could live with deviations from the bank's reference value for M3 money supply growth.
Canada's dollar - to fix or not -Friedman, Mundell
In an exclusive e-mail exchange arranged by Canada's Financial Post, Nobel Prize-winning economists Milton Friedman and Robert Mundell debate the future of the world currency system, from the euro to the Canadian dollar. This is the second installment in…
Hanoi eases rules on using land as collateral
Vietnam has relaxed rules governing the use of land rights as collateral to borrow from commercial banks, a move aimed at stimulating investment, a central bank official said on Tuesday.
Nigerian banks urged to strengthen controls
Banks operating in Nigeria have been urged by a former banking supervisor to embrace effective internal controls to safeguard their financial integrity, protect depositors' funds and forestall fraud.
Study says EU membership might not boost growth
According to a Bank of Estonia study, Estonia's economic growth would not receive an automatic boost after Estonia joins the European Union.
BOJ eyes extension of settlement system operation
The Bank of Japan said Monday it is considering operating its settlement system until 5:30 p.m., instead of an earlier-planned 5 p.m., on days for issuance of certain government securities.
Ugandan banks cautioned on margin fixing
The deputy governor Bank of Uganda, Dr Louis Kasekende, has warned commercial banks not to form cartels, in order to fix margins.
Estonia Securities Inspection to get new director
Estonian officials said on Monday that a state selection committee had nominated central bank official Kristjan-Erik Suurvali to become director general of the Securities Inspection.
Interview: Howard Davies
Following the passage of the Financial Services and Markets Act, the UK'sFinancial Services Authority is gearing up to assume full legal powers as the UK'ssingle regulator. In an exclusive interview, Howard Davies, FSA chairman andchief executive,…
Decoding the codes - is it worth the effort?
In the latest issue of The Financial Regulator, Lionel Price, Managing Director at Fitch Ratings, asks whether regulatory minimum standards can do the job expected of them.
Ten commandments for supervising mega-firms
If supervisors are to contain the risks posed by global financial conglomerates,urgent changes are needed. George J. Vojta, former vice-chairman of BankersTrust, proposes ten principles for supervising systemically important financialinstitutions.
Combating harmful tax practices
The OECD wants to stop wealthier taxpayers leaving the poor to foot the tax bill. In the latest issue of "The Financial Regulator", Dr William Witherell, Director, Financial, Fiscal and Enterprise Affairs, OECD, addresses some misunderstandings about the…
Principles for financial plumbers
Payment systems, the "plumbing" underpinning international capital markets, aretoo often ignored. John Trundle from the Bank of England, who recently helpeddevise new standards for payment system safety, explains what changes areneeded in the latest…
Salaries of CNB chiefs down almost 50%
The salaries of members of the Czech National Bank board will be lowered to almost one half starting next year as a result of the new amendments to the law on the central bank.
Belgrade sees progress in dividing ex-Yugo gold
Yugoslavia said on Monday it hoped to quickly reach a deal with other members of the old six-member Balkan federation on dividing up gold assets held with the Bank of International Settlements.
Estonia cbank, govt clash over finance supervision
The Estonian central bank has said the finance ministry had unexpectedly decided to create a unified financial supervision body with the government, and was sharply critical of the plan.
Latvian central bank intervened in currency market
The Bank of Latvia has intervened in the currency market and sold $3.5m, Andrejs Viks, central bank currency operations foreign reserves portfolio head said.
Sri Lanka mkt surprised by rupee band adjustment
The Sri Lankan central bank's third one-off adjustment of the rupee trading band Monday - amid rocketing import costs - took the markets by surprise once again.
BoE worries about banks exposure to telecoms
The Bank of England is expected to express concern at the level of debt run up by telecoms companies, the UK's Telegraph newspaper said on Monday.
Brazil delays prospectus for Bepi and BEM
After the headache caused by the problems with economic and financial evaluations, the central bank decided to wait and postponed publication of the prospectuses to contract the company that will put together the sale model and perform the financial and…
Brazil: new central bank should follow UK model
The plan for the "new" Central Bank of Brazil, elaborated by the government, is ready and will be sent to Congress at the beginning of 2001.
Buba's Reckers-no need for change in ECB rates
Bundesbank council member Hans Reckers said on Monday that the European Central Bank had no need to change interest rates in the foreseeable future.
Pakistan cbank says govt must meet IMF terms
Pakistan's central bank warned the government on Monday that it must strictly implement tough conditions set under an International Monetary Fund loan programme to avert a balance of payment crisis.