Banks
Fed's Kroszner on community banks
In the speech 'Community banks: The continuing importance of relationship finance' given on 5 March Randall Kroszner of the Federal Reserve said U.S. community banks are generally healthy and profitable despite tougher competition from larger banks and…
Interest rates round-up
A brief round-up of recent interest rate decisions in central banks in emerging markets.
Buba paper on the diversification of German banks
The Bundesbank Discussion Paper "Does diversification improve the performance of German banks? Evidence from individual bank loan portfolios" investigates the link between banks' profitability (ROA) and their portfolio diversification across different…
Eurosystem central bank staff cuts gather pace
The number of central bankers in the eurosystem stands at 49,559, a fall of 5.3% or 7,237 staff since one year ago, and 11.9% lower than when the euro was launched in 1999, reveals the 2006 edition of Central Banking Publications' Central Bank Directory.
ECB and NCBs release joint statistics
On Tuesday the European Central Bank (ECB) and the national central banks (NCBs) of the euro area for the first time released joint tables of euro area statistics and their national breakdowns on their websites.
Legal aspects of European System of Central Banks
The European Central Bank published a book on Wednesday 26 October . The book contains a collection of articles on the European Union and the ESCB, the Eurosystem, monetary law, central bank independence and central bank statutes as well as on financial…
EU banking sector stability report
The European Central Bank published a report on EU banking sector stability, prepared by the Banking Supervision Committee of the European System of Central Banks on 17 October.
Foreign central banks resume buying debt says Fed
Data released on Thursday 20 January by the Federal Reserve showed foreign central banks resumed buying US Treasuries in the latest week, but cut their agency holdings for a second week.
Ukraine central bank introduces stability measures
The National Bank of Ukraine announced on Tuesday 30 November that it is forbidding commercial banks from making early deposit withdrawals and has set limits on cash and noncash foreign-currency transactions to preserve stability during the country's…
Asian central banks on the horns of policy dilemma
These are tricky times for Asian central banks, this article reports. With semi-public wranglings between central banks and finance ministries, this is one of the least predictable environments for policy forecasting since the 1997-98 Asian financial…
What's missing at Asian central banks? Credibility
This article argues that Asia lacks a central banker with the clout enjoyed by the Federal Reserve chairman or the ECB president. This lack of credibility exists because of their aggressive manipulation of currency rates, their spotty histories of…
Liebscher on the role and functioning of the ESCB
In a speech on 'The role and functioning of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB)' given on 6 July, Klaus Liebscher of the Austrian National Bank expressed his conviction that the enlargement of the European Union and the economic and monetary…
Fazio's address to the Euro-Mediterranean seminar
In his welcoming address to the Eurosystem and Mediterranean Central Banks Euro-Mediterranean seminar, Antonio Fazio said the talents that the central banks have brought to the European system is founded on autonomy and independence, sometimes carefully…
Krueger speech to African central bank governors
In a speech at a luncheon for African Central Bank Governors given on 23 September Anne Krueger of the IMF said that achieving macroeconomic stability is a prerequisite for durable growth. It is not, of course, enough. From my contacts with African…
E-barter V fiat money: will central banks survive?
Bank of England Working Paper by F H Capie, Dimitrios P Tsomocos and Geoffrey E Wood titled "E-barter versus fiat money: will central banks survive?". In the paper the authors argue that the information-economising properties that allowed money to…
Political support needed for Africa currency union
Africa's central bank governors gathered together to discuss the possibility of forming a regional currency union, but concluded that however desirable and technically feasible it may be, it cannot be done without the support of politicians, reported the…
Basel II 'could damage capital market liquidity'
The Securities Industry Association, which represents many of the world's largest securities firms, has written to the Basel committee warning that new rules "could have a detrimental impact on the liquidity of the capital markets", according to a report…
Fed's Bies on strengthening corporate governance
In a speech on 'The Role of Community Bank Directors in Strengthening Corporate Governance' given on 7 August Susan Schmidt Bies of the Federal Reserve said corporate governance and audit failures over recent months demonstrate how quickly trust can be…
Rethinking on monetary policy
The world over, central banks are undergoing an open evaluation of their past policies, this article in the Fiunancial Express, India, says. It looks at current policies of the world's major central banks and their views on asset price bubbles.
IMF Paper: Central banks and financial stability
An IMF Working Paper titled "Responsibility of Central Banks for Stability in Financial Markets" asks What is the role of central banks in ensuring financial stability? This paper addresses this controversial subject, in part by drawing on the…
Iraqi banks want to rejoin banking system
Faleh Salman, acting Iraqi central bank governor, said at the weekend that the Security Council's decision in May to lift sanctions meant "here is no impediment now" for the resumption of relationships across the world for Iraq's banks, according to a…
CBN fails to take its place on NBCB governing body
A month after the National Board for Community Banks (NBCB) was inaugurated the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has not attended any meetings nor fill its position on the board, NBCB sources confirmed to Vanguard, Nigeria.
IMF deputy says U.S. Fed has room to cut rates
Deputy IMF managing director Eduardo Aninat said in a speech that the Federal Reserve has played a valuable role in sustaining domestic demand and "retains room to provide further stimulus should the recovery falter", according to a report by Reuters.
Nordic central banks conclude MoU memorandum
The Governors of the central banks of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on financial crisis management at their meeting of 11 June in Iceland.