News/Regulation
Standards assessment puts pressure on IMF budget
The IMF's new role assessing how well member countries meet standards fordata dissemination, monetary and fiscal transparency, and bankingsupervision is starting to put pressure on the Fund's budget according to aself-evaluation released by the Fund on…
ECB official attacks German bank supervisor revamp
European Central Bank Directorate Member Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa was reported on Mar 4, 2001 as reiterating the ECB's objections to German government plans to strip the Bundesbank of its banking watchdog duties.
BIS -Turkey borrowed heavily before latest crisis
Turkish public and private borrowers drew large sums from foreign banks late in 2000 even as problems were starting to show up in the country's financial system, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) said.
S&P monitors impact of Malaysian financial plan
The Financial Sector Masterplan recently announced by Malaysia's central bank is expected to improve the global competitiveness of the country's financial services sector, but its benefits are unlikely to be immediate, said a Standard & Poor's press…
Bank watchdog quits as Turkey brings in outsider
The head of Turkey's banking watchdog resigned suddenly on Mar 3, 2001, casting a shadow over the appointment of an economic "superminister" to solve Turkey's woes.
Labuan IOFC to be further developed-Bank Negara
Bank Negara Malasyia, the Malaysian central bank, in its Financial Sector Masterplan has made recommendations to further develop the Labuan International Offshore Financial Centre (IOFC) in three main areas of activity.
Argentine cbank head called 'lax on control'
Argentine Central Bank President Pedro Pou opened the door for widespread money laundering with derelict financial controls, a member of a congressional committee investigating whether the banker should be dismissed said on Mar 2, 2001.
Malaysia bars new foreign banks until 2007
Malaysia's central bank said on Mar 1, 2001 no new foreign banks will be allowed to enter the domestic market until after 2007, giving local banks time to prepare for a decade of trade liberalisation.
Tanzanian banking sector to continue deregulation
Liberalization of Tanzania's financial institutions has set a strong basis for increased investments and economic growth, the country's Finance Minister Basil Mramba has said.
IMF establishing international capital market dept
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will establish an International Capital Markets Department to enhance its surveillance, crisis prevention and crisis management activities, the Fund announced on Mar 1, 2001.
IMF advises integrating Korea finance supervisors
A report from the International Monetary Fund has advised South Korea that the Financial Supervisory Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service merge into a single organization, with the status of its chairman on par with the central bank governor.
World Bank's Dervis accepts Turk cenbank job-TV
Long-serving senior World Bank official Kemal Dervis has accepted the job of Turkey's Central Bank governor, vacated by Gazi Ercel after last week's financial crisis, television station NTV quoted deputy prime minister Mesut Yilmaz as saying on Feb 28,…
Hungary ctrl bk nominee-dangers of cap mkt opening
Hungarian central bank council member nominee Gabor Oblath warned Feb 27, 2001 of the dangers of the planned liberalization of Hungary's capital markets.
Hayami-inappropriate to raise outright JGB buys
Bank of Japan governor Masaru Hayami said on Feb 27, 2001 the central bank's current monetary policy already has some quantitative easing effects and that it is willing to continue this easy monetary policy.
IMF to assess Finnish financial sector
Finland will help the International Monetary Fund to prepare an assessment of the Finnish financial sector, which is a new IMF tool for monitoring member country economies, the central bank said on Feb 26.
Oman poised to tighten loan rules again
Barely five months after easing the regulations for personal bank loans, the Central Bank of Oman seems poised to tighten them again.
BSP to tighten insider lending rules BIS standard
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will tighten its rules on loans to banks' directors, officers, shareholders, or related interests (DOSRI) to further strengthen the banking system and meet international standards.
Compulsory reserve ratio maintained in Vietnam
The Vietnamese central bank will not reduce the compulsory reserve ratio for foreign currency deposits of less than 12 months despite proposed amendments from some local banks since earlier this month.
Bundesbank joins Frankfurt regulator to slow Basel
Germany's central bank and banking regulator are joining forces in an effort to slow consideration of the new Basel Capital Accord, or Basel II, which aims to modernize the way banks globally account for risk.
Dual banking system viable in Malaysia - Zeti Aziz
The dual banking system - the side by side Islamic and conventional banking operations approach - has proven to be workable in Malaysia although it may not be applicable or suitable for others, Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz said on…
Bank of France rejects lax bank monitoring charge
France's central bank on Feb 21, 2001 rejected charges by parliamentary deputies that it had been lax in dealing with money laundering risks during the surveillance of a Swiss bank's subsidiary in France.
Argentine senate to probe entire Pou tenure-papers
A Senate panel charged with investigating the possible mishandling of evidence by central bank president Pedro Pou in a recent money laundering case will instead probe all of Pou's actions since he took office, local newspapers reported.
Islamic banking needs standardisation - Iran gov
Dr Mohsen Nourbakhsh, Iran's Central Bank (CBI) Governor, said that Islamic banking has a lot of work to do in raising its international banking standards. "We have to strengthen the different interpretations of Shariah Law in order to harmonize the…
Argentina widens Central Bank laundering probe
An Argentine Congressional panel overseeing the Central Bank on Feb 20 widened a money laundering probe of its chief to include its board of directors in a scandal that threatens a recovery in Latin America's third largest economy.