Financial Stability
RBI to recall 15% of notes
According to central bank sources quoted by Reuters, the Reserve Bank of India plans to take up to 15% of banknotes out of circulation as part of its clean note policy
US plan to e-process checks has critics
A Federal Reserve proposal to allow banks to process checks electronically and substitute a new type of check for traditional paper checks has been endorsed by the banking industry, says Associated Press. But consumer groups say it would increase the…
Report says Irish gov't may switch to e-payments
A report commissioned by the Irish government recommends a move to e-payments which could save €200 million a year. However, according to the Sunday Times, the report highlighted a number of problems which must be overcome before the change can take…
Banks seek redress after clearing system seizes up
A damages row has erupted after a computer failure at the worlds largest forex clearing house left some banks facing heavy losses last month. CLS Bank, which operates the real-time payment system linking the central banks of the seven largest currencies,…
Iraq's central bank unveils new banknote
The Iraqi central bank has issued a new banknote for 10000 dinar. The note contains various security features as well as the same portrait of President Saddam Hussein used on all other banknotes in Iraq, according to the LBMRC.
Minehan on the U.S. Retail Payments System
In a speech on 'Technology and the U.S. Retail Payments System: Challenges and Opportunities' Cathy Minehan of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston said after September 11, no list of challenges can be complete without mention of the need to continually…
RBA Payments System Board Annual Report 2002
The Reserve Bank of Australia issued its Payments System Board Annual Report on 28 March. The Report said the Board has embarked on a major reform of card networks that is intended to allow market mechanisms to operate more effectively in the Australian…
De La Rue to take over BoE note printing operation
The UK Department of Trade and Industry has cleared bank note printer De La Rue's take over of the Bank of England's banknote printing operation, according to CMP Information.
Policy issues for central banks in retail payments
The Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems (CPSS) published the report Policy issues for central banks in retail payments on 10 March. The report was prepared for the CPSS by its Working Group on Retail Payment Systems, which comprises payment…
Bank of Canada Working Paper, February 2003
RESEARCH - In the Working Paper "Managing Operational Risk in Payment, Clearing, and Settlement Systems" Kim McPhail describes the key features of systemically important PCSS in Canada and the oversight role of the Bank of Canada with respect to those…
Bank of Japan Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - Framework for Improving the Network Infrastructure of the BOJ-NET, 10 February.
Why price stability is not enough
The current fashion for inflation targetting ignores the perils of asset bubbles, and cannot react adequately to the fallout. A much longer view is needed, contends Stephen King.
Review of Making Money, An Insider’s Perspective on Finance, Politics, and Canada’s Central Bank
Ben Mander enjoys the new book by a former governor of the Bank of Canada
Central role for ECCB
Michael Imeson looks at the economic problems facing the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, and what the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank is doing to help stimulate development.
The benefits of a broader Basel
Ignoring the benefits of a diversified portfolio will penalise developing markets, argue Stephany Griffith-Jones, Stephen Spratt and Miguel Segoviano.
How a central bank should talk
Tony Morrison of the Bank of Jamaica gives his view on how central banks should deal with the media. Reticence is not the answer.
Leadership and management of central banks
“Almost by definition, central banks lack comparative advantage in managing organisational change”, argues John Mendzela. In the second of two articles, he outlines measures of efficiency and performance.
How to reform the stability and growth pact
Willem Buiter proffers his alternatives to the “stupid” arrangement.
Interview: Mladjan Dinkic
Yugoslavia’s speedy economic recovery from the Milosevic era has been achieved with a programme of radical reforms by a governor prepared to take risks. The governor discusses the implications of the creation of the new state union of Serbia and…
Venezuelan, Colombian cbs agree on payment system
Following meetings between central bank officials from Venezuela and Colombia, a system has been agreed which will control and guarantee payments for Colombian exports to Venezuela.
Fed plans to change its check operations
The Federal Reserve System moved Thursday to streamline its behind-the-scenes check-processing operations, citing Americans' increasing use of debit cards and other electronic payment options to pay bills. The move is likely to lead to several hundred…
Maharishi Yogi's cash legal, says Dutch bank
The Dutch central bank said on Tuesday that an organisation founded by Beatles guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi had not violated the law by issuing and using its own currency in the Netherlands.
RBI installs cutting-edge currency machines
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Bimal Jalan on Wednesday inaugurated the currency verification and processing system (CVPS) in RBI's Mumbai office. The system is part of the central bank's drive to weed out currency notes and replace them with…