Reserves
Estonia c.bank Jan reserves down amid rules change
Estonia's central bank said on Feb. 7 its gold and foreign currency reserves dropped 14.4 percent in January 2001 from December 2000 as new regulations easing the use of commercial banks' mandatory reserves went into effect. The central bank said in a…
Czechs to mull foreign bond issue - Deputy FinMin
The Czech central bank (CNB) board should discuss at the beginning of March 2001 the possibility of tapping foreign markets for a bond issue, Deputy Finance Minister Eduard Janota said on Feb 7."We are analysing the current situation on the bond market…
Bank of Lithuania forex reserves fall by 1.9%
Lithuania's official international reserves shrank by 25.4 million U.S. dollars, or 1.9 percent, over January 2001, measuring up at 1.333 billion dollars as of Feb. 1, the central Bank of Lithuania announced on Feb. 7. The Bank of Lithuania said it sold…
Bank of Estonia total assets down 6.5% in Jan 2001
The total assets of the Bank of Estonia declined by 6.5 percent during January to 16.1 billion kroons (USD 955 mln) at the end of the January 2001. The central bank's gold and currency reserve dropped by 2.2 billion kroons or 14.4 percent to 13.2 billion…
Poland NBP implements new risk prevention methods
The National Bank of Poland (NBP) central bank and the Banking Supervisory Commission (KNB) will impose new principles of protection against the foreign currency risk and gold risk. Consequently the minimum solvency index for banks will rise from 8 to 11…
Reserves plan bad for euro system - Austria c.bank
The Austrian National Bank warned on Feb. 6, 2001, that the finance minister's efforts to get the government's hands on central bank currency reserves could undermine the credibility of the euro system. "The Austrian National Bank believes that resorting…
Bank Negara reappoints Citibank as main dealer
Citibank announced on Feb. 5, 2001, its re-appointment by Bank Negara Malaysia for the year 2001 as a Principal Dealer of Malaysian Government Securities, Treasury Bills, Bank Negara Bills, Cagamas instruments, Khazanah Bonds and other approved…
Austrian govt, c.bank at odds on forex reserves
Austrian Finance Minister Karl-Heinz Grasser clashed with the central bank on Feb. 5, 2001, when he called for up to $6.8 billion worth of its currency reserves to be used to cut the national debt or boost public spending. The deputy governor of the…
Future Hungary c.bank head sets EMU roadmap
National Bank of Hungary (NBH) governor designate Zsigmond Jarai said on Feb 5., 2001, that Hungary must forge a path to join the euro zone, including two possible cuts in the monthly devaluation rate of the forint in 2001. "We should mark the route and…
Zambia c.bnk imposes new rules to defend kwacha
The central Bank of Zambia on Feb. 5, 2001, imposed new rules to defend the battered kwacha, which it says is a victim of speculators and unscrupulous businessmen. In a statement, the bank said it had reduced overall foreign exchange exposure limits for…
Radek Urban leaving Czech National Bank
Radek Urban has left the Czech National Bank where he was executive director of the financial markets department. On March 1 he will joining the asset management department of Ceska Sporitelna in Prague. Mr Urban has played a key role in developing the…
Belarus hard currency reserves triple to $150m
Belarus's central bank net hard currency reserves rose to $150 million on January 1, 2001, from $50 million at the start of last year, the bank's head, Pyotr Prokopovich, said on Feb 2. He told a news conference the bank planned to boost net hard…
Turkish cbank meets asset targets under IMF plan
The Central Bank of Turkey on Feb 1 said it has comfortably achieved the net domestic assets target (NDA), and net international reserve levels it committed to under its anti-inflation program agreed with the International Monetary Fund. The bank said in…
Ukraine c.bank reserves rise to three-year high
Ukraine's central bank said on Feb 1 its gross hard currency reserves rose to a three-year high of $1.718 billion on January 31, 2001, from $1.617 billion on December 22, 2001. Serhiy Yaremenko, head of the central bank currency regulation department,…
Banco de Mexico might halt forex reserves buildup
A Banco de Mexico official said on Jan. 31, 2001, the central bank was weighing the cost of continuing to accumulate foreign exchange reserves and was considering halting its monthly auction of dollar options. "We've got to seriously consider if we want…
Kazakhs give details of new strategic oil fund
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev on Jan. 31 issued a decree setting out details of a special fund to make his resource-rich nation less exposed to changing prices for energy and commodities exports. The official Kazakhstanskaya Pravda newspaper said…
ECB-forex reserves almost unchanged at 260.9 bln
The European Central Bank said on Jan. 30, 2001, foreign currency reserves of the euro zone central banks in the week ending January 26 were "virtually unchanged," while its gold holdings were also unchanged. The net position of the ECB and euro zone…
Uganda's Mutebile warns speculators
The Governor, Bank of Uganda (BOU), Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile, has warned against speculation in the foreign exchange marke. He said BOU is going to take action against the practice, because it hurts the economy.
New Egypt forex peg only valid as short-term fix
Egypt's introduction of a "managed peg" for pound-dollar rates may restore exchange rate stability in the short term but will be unsustainable and counterproductive in the long term, analysts said on Jan. 29, 2001. Under the new system the central bank…
Indonesia bankers still unclear on forex rules
Indonesia's foreign bankers said a meeting with central bank officials late on Jan. 29, 2001, did little to clarify foreign rules which have baffled the market for two weeks. They said the bank promised to issue a circular within the next two days…
Egypt to value pound vs currency basket eventually
Egypt's Economy and Foreign Trade Minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali said on Jan. 29 the Egyptian pound would eventually be valued against a basket of currencies, rather than the dollar as now."We are waiting to move to a basket of currencies when the time…
Sri Lankan president says rupee float was timely
President Chandrika Kumaratunga said on Jan 28, 2001, the flotation of the Sri Lankan rupee helped avert a possible economic crisis and added there would be an intervention if the currency fell too steeply. Speaking on a Sinhalese-language television…