Financial Stability
Greenspan hits back
Alan Greenspan, a former chairman of the Federal Reserve, has said that the blame for the subprime crisis lies with the investment community rather than himself, as has often been argued.
Crisis not over yet, says Netherlands' Wellink
Nout Wellink, the president of the Netherlands Central Bank, said the financial crisis is far from over, the US looks almost certain to go into recession and the rest of the world will suffer the consequences.
Joint Forum: CRT markets' future developments
Firms should not establish material positions in credit risk transfer (CRT) instruments without first having validated models for pricing and risk-managing such exposures, advises a new report from the Joint Forum.
New UK coinage meets lukewarm reception
New coin and banknote designs are almost inevitably greeted with criticism and the first new coin designs for 40 years from the UK's Royal Mint, unveiled on 3 April, were no exception. Historians, designers and MPs have already criticised them.
Payment system risk the priority
The need to mitigate the risk involved in using outmoded payments infrastructure has to be given priority, said Ranee Jayamaha, a deputy governor at the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
Tucker: BoE to only partly offset the credit blow
The Bank of England should cut rates gradually to avoid inflation, said Paul Tucker, the Bank's executive director responsible for markets and member of the Monetary Policy Committee.
Lenders expect further credit cutbacks: BoE poll
The Bank of England's quarterly survey of credit conditions, published on 3 April, showed that lenders had reduced the supply of secured credit to households over the three months to mid-March.
Iceland's Fridriksson dismisses stability concerns
In an effort to reassure investors, Ingimundur Fridriksson, a board member at the Central Bank of Iceland, has denied that the country's banks and economy are unstable.
Auction shows massive demand for ECB cash
The European Central Bank's (ECB) first-ever auction of six-month loans was more than four times oversubscribed, indicating the high level of tension in the region's money markets.
Fed's new subprime and alt-A maps
The Federal Reserve System will publish maps updated monthly to illustrate the state of subprime and alt-A mortgage loans across the United States.
FSF to suggest radical solutions to turmoil
The Financial Stability Forum (FSF) is set to propose a series of unorthodox measures for fighting the credit crunch, say media reports.
Kansas City's subprime loan record
Subprime borrowers in the 10th district are having difficulties with payment delinquencies running above the national average, according to a recent report by the Federal Reserve of Kansas City.
"Unscrupulous dealers" attacking Iceland's economy
David Oddsson, the chairman of the board of directors at the Central Bank of Iceland, suspects that "unscrupulous dealers" are trying to bring down the Icelandic financial system by circulating rumours about the country's bank and central government.
ECB to add €150 billion as market rates creep up
The European Central Bank (ECB) is to conduct four extra open market operations in a bid to relieve interbank tensions.
RBA Financial Stability Review
The Australian financial system has coped better with the recent strains than have those of many other countries, notes the latest Financial Stability Report from the Reserve Bank of Australia.
Financial markets in Japan
This new report from the Bank of Japan looks at how financial markets in the country coped with the market turmoil triggered by the subprime woes in the second half of 2007.
Costs rise for dollar loans despite $50bn auction
The Federal Reserve's latest Term Auction Facility operation failed to quell rising interbank tensions as money-market rates for one-month dollar loans climbed on Tuesday 25 March.
Bank's extra cash to stay in system until April
The Bank of England said on Thursday 20 March that it would carry over the emergency £5 billion ($10 billion) injection made on Monday until just before its next rate-setting meeting.
Hong Kong's RTGS passes share-dealing-surge test
Optimisers in Hong Kong's high-value payments system meant it was able to cope with the explosion in initial purchase offers and lively market trading in 2007, Esmond Lee and Sara Yip, two members of the Financial Infrastructure Department at the region…
Overnight rate unchanged despite BoE injection
The Bank of England's attempt to lower sterling short-term interbank borrowing costs by adding £5 billion ($10 billion) to the money markets looks to have failed.
Turmoil set to impact Swiss exporters: SNB's Roth
The financial market turbulence is unlikely to leave Switzerland unscathed, said Jean-Pierre Roth, the chairman of the governing board of the Swiss National Bank.
Fed works over weekend to counter market stress
The Federal Reserve took its fourth emergency action in ten days on Sunday 16 March, cutting the rate at which it offers discount window funds and attempting to boost trading in securitisation markets.
Old Lady adds an extra £5bn
The Bank of England injected £5 billion ($10 billion) into the money markets on Monday 17 March after overnight interbank rates shot up on the back of Bear Stearns's collapse.
Fed credibility at risk, warn commentators
Economic commentators have largely slammed the raft of measures that the Federal Reserve has introduced over the past ten days.