Central Banking
Greenspan-Fed may expand debt types in portfolio
The Federal Reserve continues to explore its options for implementing monetary policy as the stock of its preferred instrument, U.S. Treasury debt, declines, Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Feb 13, 2001. Two of the options on the table include debt…
Polish leftist MP wants to change c.bank charter
A senior deputy from the ex-communist SLD social democrats, the party expected to win upcoming parliamentary elections, said the central bank's charter should be changed, a newspaper reported on Feb 13, 2001. Marek Borowski, SLD's deputy speaker of the…
Defiant Rafael Buenaventura says he will not quit
Philippine Central Bank Governor Rafael Buenaventura said he would not resign following accusations that he had alerted deposed president Joseph Estrada to withdraw the latter's secret account with deposits worth $2.9m (P143.76million) a day before the…
IMF team to review Ecuador's dollarization process
A team from the International Monetary Fund will arrive in Ecuador in the next few days to review the progress of the dollarization process implemented by the country in 2000. The three-member IMF team will stay in Ecuador for about 15 days, analyzing…
G7 to review global economy at Palermo fortress
When the world's leading financial barons meet in Sicily this weekend [Feb 16, 2001] to review their armoury for spurring the global economy, they will do so at a site chosen as a strategic look-out point dating back more than 2,000 years. Finance…
Venezuelan fin min-cbank won't fix interest rates
Venezuelan Finance Minister Jose Rojas reiterated Feb 13, 2001 that the central bank won't fix credit and deposit rates in the banking sector. "The central bank is not going to fix rates," Rojas said in a televised interview. In a nod toward the monetary…
Bank of Canada cuts growth forecast
Canada's central bank said officially for the first time on Feb 13, 2001 that the U.S. economic slowdown may cut Canada's growth rate to below 3 percent, but it remained positive about the country's economic prospects. "Primarily because of the spillover…
Greenspan said the U.S. was not in recession
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Feb 13, 2001 the U.S. economy was not in a recession but may face a rocky transition as it downshifts from super-charged growth rates of the past several years. When asked point-blank in a Senate Banking…
BIS urges vigilance on asset bubbles
It's time for central bankers to get tough on bubbles, according to a top official at the Bank for International Settlements. Overly high stock and property prices should prompt central bankers to take interest rate action in the same way rising wage…
Optimal Degrees of Transparency in Mon Pol-Jensen
"Optimal Degrees of Transparency in Monetary Policymaking" is a new discussion paper by Henrik Jensen published by the Centre for Economic and Policy Research in London. He discusses the advantages and disadvantages of transparency. A good paper for all…
Do Monetary Handcuffs Restrain Leviathan?-A. Rose
A new discussion paper called "Do Monetary Handcuffs Restrain Leviathan? Fiscal Policy in Extreme Exchange Rate Regimes" by Andrew K Rose , Antonio Fatas, has just been published by the Centre for Economic and Policy Research. It looks at case studies of…
Philippine cbank gov urged to quit over Estrada
The governor of the Philippine central bank is at the centre of a storm, for allegedly sleeping on the job while deposed President Joseph Estrada laundered millions of dollars through the local banking system.Several congressmen involved in ousting Mr…
IMF-WB-ADB in bailout package for Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka has been promised a bailout package from the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to help shore up depleted foreign exchange reserves, Central Bank officials said. The officials, who declined to be named,…
RBA upbeat but says U.S. still main risk
Australia's central bank painted a cautious picture of the economy on Feb 12, 2001, saying domestic growth had slowed and much depended on the outlook for the United States. Less than a week after slashing official interest rates by half a percentage…
Asia response to revised Basel Accord
Asian countries have responded well to proposals for a new regulatory framework strengthening the global banking system and allowing banks more independence in assessing capital risk, according to New York Federal Reserve President William McDonough. …
Jakarta sticks to controversial c.bank law changes
Indonesia said on Feb. 12, 2001 it would stick to proposed amendments to the central bank law that would effectively sack the existing board of governors, a move expected to add pressure to already strained relations with the IMF. The International…
HKMA Background Brief No.1: HK Linked ER System
Since 1983 the Hong Kong dollar has been linked to the US dollar at the rate of HK$7.8 to one US dollar. The link is maintained through the operation of a strict and robust currency board system. This booklet published by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority…
BIS cbankers expect world economy to pick up
Central bankers meeting in Hong Kong on Feb 12, 2001 agreed that the global economy is now slowing but will return to growth in the second half of 2001, said an official who briefed reporters. Andrew Crockett, general manager of the Bank for…
Indonesia's IBRA chief optimistic on bank sales
The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) said on Feb 12, 2001 it was optimistic it would sell stakes in Bank Central Asia (BCA) and Bank Niaga as planned despite concerns some MPs might delay the process. "Yes, in principle I am optimistic," IBRA…
Ecuador cbank sells bankrupt banks property assets
The Ecuadorian Central Bank BCE (Banco Central del Ecuador) has put for sale the headquarters and branches of bankrupt banks, and will use he cash to settle loans made to the BCE to solve liquidity problems. Initially it is offering the assets to…
Kazakh currency expected to devalue 5% in 2001
Kazakhstan's currency, the tenge, will not devalue by more than 5-6% this year, National Bank head Grigory Marchenko told Interfax news agency. He said that Inflation is targeted to drop to 6-8% this year from 9.8% in 2000. The central bank will be able…
Fed's Minehan sees 2001 U.S. growth near 2 pct
Boston Federal Reserve President Cathy Minehan said on Feb 12, 2001 she expects U.S. economic growth to start accelerating again later in 2001, helped by the central bank's January 2001 rate cuts."I expect activity to increase later in the year, and…
Zimbabwe says to lift forex directive on Feb 15
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe said on Feb 12, 2001 a directive to commercial banks to sell all foreign currency from clients' export earnings to the central bank or the state oil company would be lifted on Feb 15. "This directive has been issued as a…
Bank of Israel may seek data on high-tech credit
The Bank of Israel's Supervisor of Banks is considering asking commercial banks to report specifically on the extent of their loans to the high-tech sector, a spokesman said on Feb 12, 2001. Loans to the technology sector are currently included within…