News/Reserves
AIB signs new risk-control agreement
US - The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, the Maryland Commissioner of Financial Regulation and the Central Bank of Ireland have signed a written agreement with Allied Irish Banks, Allfirst Financial and Allfirst Bank setting out the steps to be taken…
Polish gov't calls for exchange rate discussion
POLAND - Following a government session on Tuesday, finance minister Marek Belka called the central bank's Monetary Policy Council (RPP) to discuss potential proposals aimed at abandoning the policy of no-intervention on the foreign exchange market, and…
Yugoslav c bank converts German marks into euros
YUGOSLAVIA - About 7.9 billion German marks have been converted into euros, Yugoslav National Bank Governor Mladjan Dinkic said on Thursday.
Russia's forex reserves hit record 40bn dollars
RUSSIA - Russia's gold and hard currency reserves have broken a new record. The Central Bank of Russia's department of external and public relations announced on Thursday 16 May that they stood at 40bn dollars as of 10 May.
Eurosystem reserves down 0.1 bln eur to 10 May
GERMANY - The European Central Bank said eurosystem net foreign currency reserves fell 0.1 bln eur to 258.2 bln in the week ending 10 May on account of customer and portfolio transactions.
Argentina pays down 680 mln US$ World Bank debt
ARGENTINA - The government paid down yesterday a 680 mln US$ instalment on a World Bank loan from central bank reserves, the economy minister Roberto Lavagna, said.
Poland's c bank boosts reserves by $165m in April
POLAND - The announcement made by the National Bank of Poland (NBP), that it will boost reserves by $165m, signifies that Poland's reserve assets on the last day of April accounted for $27,224bn and were $660m higher than on 31 December 2001.
Argentina's central bank to intervene in for-ex
ARGENTINA - Argentina's central bank will intervene on the foreign exchange market "firmly" from today to stem the fall of the peso against the dollar, Argentinean newspaper Clarin reported, citing a senior central bank source.
Rand revival hits five-month high
SOUTH AFRICA - South Africa's battered currency continued its dramatic revival on Monday as the rand climbed to its best level against the dollar since November last year.
Air Miles 'threaten dollar's dominance' - Report
US - Air Miles currently in circulation are said to be worth $500 billion - making them the second biggest "currency" after the dollar.
Malaysian central bank's reserves at US$32.5 bn
MALAYSIA - Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) said its international reserves stood at RM123.5 billion (US$32.5 billion) as at April 15 2002, which is sufficient to finance 5.5 months of retained imports.
Turkish c bank says it meets IMF monetary targets
TURKEY - Turkey's Central Bank said on Wednesday it had met monetary targets for March and April agreed under a $16 billion IMF lending package tasked with slashing inflation and raising growth.
Bank of Estonia's profit smaller than last year
ESTONIA - President of the Bank of Estonia Vahur Kraft has said that last year the central bank earned an extraordinarily high profit on its foreign currency reserves, but this year would be much more modest in that respect.
Argentina's banks re-open to chaotic scenes
ARGENTINA - Argentina's banks and financial markets reopened on Monday after a 10-day emergency shutdown.
Fraga sees crisis in Argentina as "worrying"
BRAZIL - Central Bank chairman Arminio Fraga said on Friday that the crisis in neighboring Argentina is "extremely worrying". He compared Argentina to Brazil, stating the former has yet to restructure its state finances, which he said was carried out…
ECB gold reserves declined to 26 April
GERMANY - The European Central Bank said Tuesday that the Eurosystem's net reserves in gold and gold receivables declined by EUR306 million to EUR139.5 billion in the week ended 26 April.
Central bank invite non-resident to invest in Iran
IRAN - The Governor of the Central Bank of Iran(CBI) Mohsen Nurbakhsh called on the non-resident Iranians to invest in Iran and use their assets to buy shares from Tehran exchange market.
IMF shows support for Hong Kong dollar peg system
HONG KONG - The International Monetary Fund Thursday voiced strong support for Hong Kong's currency peg system to the U.S. dollar, and said it hasn't eaten into the regions economic growth.
Argentina tightens banking freeze
ARGENTINA - Argentina's Congress has passed a law aimed at rescuing the country's banks by making it more difficult for savers to withdraw their cash.
BOU forex strategy may be paying off
UGANDA - The Bank of Uganda's (BOU) new strategy of intervening into the foreign exchange market without disclosing amounts sold, seems to be working, reports New Africa News.
Afghanistan backs national currency
AFGHANISTAN - The central bank in Afghanistan has intervened to support the national currency, buying $500,000 worth of afghanis from the Kabul money market.
ECB's Noyer sees gold's role as reserve declining
GERMANY - Outgoing European Central Bank Vice President Christian Noyer said on Tuesday that the role of gold in central bank reserves was declining but was still part of central bank credibility.
Argentina "very close" to IMF accord - Report
ARGENTINA - Argentina's economy will shrink even further this year, the International Monetary Fund has warned.
Abachas reported to return $1bn to Nigeria
UK - The family of Sani Abacha, Nigeria's former dictator, has agreed to return $1bn ( £600m) in funds looted from the country's central bank in return for the dropping of theft and money laundering charges against Abacha's son and one of Abacha's…