Governance
Sierra Leone appoints a new deputy governor
Mohamed Sanpha Fofanah has been appointed the new deputy governor of the central bank of Sierra Leone, PANA News said. He replaces Melvin Tucker who was described in an official statement, the report said, as "the encyclopaedia of the central bank".
New RBZ governor speaks of challenges ahead
Gideon Gono was appointed governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe last week. Gono, a prominent banker, was appointed by President Mugabe and follows the announcement of a planned overhaul of the central bank. After accepting the job Gono spoke of it as…
Ex -cb chief runs for presidency of Mauritania
Ahmed Ould Daddah, the brother of Mauritania's first president, Mouktar Ould Daddah, who died last month, is a veteran politician and head of the opposition Union of Democratic Forces-New Era. The 70-year old is also a former governor of the central bank…
Bonello gets another term
Michael Bonello has been re-appointed for a five year term as Governor of the Central Bank of Malta, the Bank said on Friday. Bonello studied languages and economics at the University of Malta and was a senior official at the United Nations Conference on…
Student threatens to blow up central bank
A Hungarian student has threatened to blow up the National Bank of Hungary, the Courier Mail reported. The threats also included crashing a plane into the parliament building. The unnamed student said the threats were a 'joke' when arrested.
'Lucky' people are those who knew Milton Friedman
Alan Greenspan spoke at last weeks Dallas Fed conference honouring Milton Friedman. The Fed Chairman spoke of 91 year old Friedman and his wife, as Reuters reported it, saying: "If I believed in luck, I would argue that the most lucky people are those of…
Brash reaches National Party summit
Just 15 months after leaving the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, ex-governor Don Brash has just been appointed head of the NZ opposition. Bill English got the boot in a secret ballot after two failed election attempts to oust Helen Clark's Labour Party from…
Chaos as staff go on rampage in Bangladesh
Bangladesh Bank (BB) was in chaos last week after angry staff confronted Governor Fakhruddin Ahmed. The central bank chief was confined to his office for an hour, The Daily Star reported, before employees forcibly entered the governor's office to voice…
PNG central bank goes public on deputy's departure
After a 20 year career with the Bank of Papua New Guinea, Deputy Governor Flora Carruthers suddenly left the bank earlier this month a report has said. After much speculation on the sudden departure, central bank Governor Wilson Kamit took the bold step…
Interview with Sultan Nasser al-Suwaidi of the UAE
Here we present extracts from an interview with Sultan Nasser al-Suwaidi, governor of the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates. Educated in the United States as an economist, he is highly regarded among global financial figures. The following…
Backstrom moves to life-insurance role
Former governor of the Sveriges Riksbank, Urban Backstrom, has been appointed president and chief executive officer of Skandia Liv. Backstrom said he would work to restore policyholders confidence and takes a fixed salary of 3.3 million kronor in the…
G7 and ECB Central Bankers' Salaries
This article published by Reuters looks in-depth at the salaries of G7 central bank heads, Federal Reserve Board Governors, ECB President, Vice-President and Executive Board Members. It reveals, among other things, that the Governor of the Bank of France…
Alan Greenspan, the central bankers' poor relation
A survey published by Reuters last week found Alan Greenspan to be the lowest paid G7 central bank head earning a mere US$ 171,900. Jean-Claude Trichet's salary, by contrast, rings in at the equivalent of US$ 341,404. But this is topped by "little"…
France's Noyer on banknotes' stretch
Christian Noyer has answered the question that was on everyone's lips: Just how far would the 15bn euro banknotes stretch if laid end-to-end?
Armenia ushers in new Deputy Governor
The National Assembly of Armenia has approved Artur Dzhavadyan as the new Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Armenia after he was proposed by the President. In what looks like a big vote of confidence, ArmInfo reported there were 86 votes in support…
ECB gets a queen for the day
The red carpet was rolled out last week in Frankfurt when Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands paid a visit to the European Central Bank.
Poetry - McTeer style
Dallas Fed President Bob McTeer is well known for his poetry and a recent article in the New York Post reminded us of a few of his classics, including this one. "There once was an economy on the ropes. It kept defying recovery hopes. When we finally made…
Ferguson and Bernanke back on Board
Roger Ferguson and Ben Bernanke got approval from the US Senate last Friday to new terms at the Fed, Reuters reports. Bernanke gets a full 14 year term on the Federal Reserve Board while Ferguson was cleared for four more years as the Fed's Vice Chairman.
Heads set to roll at troubled RBZ
Zimbabwe's Financial Gazette reports trouble brewing at the Reserve Bank. Not only does the country have a cash crisis, but the central bank is in turmoil with rumours that the government plans to bring experts in from Bank Negara Malaysia to sort things…
Kick off in Italy
Italy is famous for its football but the Financial Times reported kicks of a different kind last week. Governor of the Bank of Italy Antonio Fazio was said to have instructed one of his bodyguards to "kick him a bit so he goes away" referring to a…
Bikers and bankers
G20 central bankers meeting in Mexico were in for a shock when they arrived at their hotel to find most of the rooms had been taken by a group of bikers. Rows of Harley Davidsons greeted them and the Financial Times reported that the G20 bankers were…
Mervyn's smile
When the Bank of England's top brass was hauled in front of the Treasury Select Committee to explain their August Inflation Report, Mervyn King, the Bank's new governor, stole the show - although the committee did probe the voting habits of some of the…
Marchenko's prize
Grigori Marchenko, the unassuming but hugely competent governor of the National Bank of Kazakhstan, has received recognition for his instrumental role in turning his country into the most prosperous economy in the region by winning Euromoney's 2003…
Tips for Tito?
Following the recent to-do over South African Reserve Bank governor Tito Mboweni's swelling pay package, and the subsequent support he received from his opposite number in the finance ministry, Trevor Manuel, Mboweni might do well to take a leaf out of…