Financial Stability
The IMF’s assessment of central bank internal controls
The IMF has found many central banks of borrowing countries to be lacking certain key elements needed for effective internal control. A report by Ahmad Sartip.
Central banks on the web: why are we there?
Central banks must go beyond the minimum of data provision if they are to build an image and address the growing demands of their diverse audience, argues Brent Eades of the Bank of Canada.
The Polish conflict
Stanislaw Gomulka surveys the institutional causes and economic consequences of the bitter dispute between the government and central bank in Poland. The inexperience of both suggests a European solution.
Behind the scenes in Basel
Neil Courtis ventures into the BIS in Basel and finds an institution in the process of redefining its role.
The Euro 50 Group Roundtable: Challenges of accession: Estonia
Märten Ross, a deputy governor at the Bank of Estonia, considers alternative scenarios for joining the euro. After ten years’ experience of a currency board, Estonia is more than prepared to join.
Why Britain should not join the euro
Janet Bush rejects the economic benefits of monetary union and argues that there is insurmountable opposition to the necessary complementary institution, a European government.
Sovereign bankruptcy: an opinion Jean-Jacques Rey
Jean-Jacques Rey welcomes Anne Krueger’s proposals for a sovereign debt restructuring mechanism. But is it a dead-end or promising avenue?
Interview: Mario Blejer
In January 2002 former IMF economist Mario Blejer became governor of the Banco Central de la Repœblica Argentina with the job of preventing Argentina from descending into financial anarchy. Two weeks after his resignation in late June he spoke to Central…
Electronic Payment Usage Grows- Chicago Fed Letter
PUBLICATION - The August 2002 issue of Chicago Fed Letter explores the recent growth of online person-to person payments, the problems and opportunities faced by payment providers and future opportunities for these payments.
Kuwait reports use of bank notes decreasing
ARTICLE - Over the past few years the demand for charge cards provided by Kuwaiti banks has increased, and has coincided with an enhancement of knowledge surrounding " plastic money", in an attempt to convert Kuwait into a society that depends largely on…
Euro banknotes fail test of time
GERMANY - Germans were among the swiftest of Europeans to detect that the euro was dangerous to their wealth. Now it seems the replacement to the mighty mark just does not cut it in the rough and tumble of everyday life.
Counterfeit bank notes on rise in Korea 1st half
SOUTH KOREA - The number of attempts to use forged bank notes increased considerably in the first half of the year, as counterfeiters have easier access to computer scanners and colour photocopiers.
Polish e-signature centre may break EU law
POLAND - The privileged position of Centrast accreditation centre and the high fees that the subsidiary of the central bank plans to charge may be against the rules set forth in an EU directive on the e-signature, released in 1999.
Iraqi central bank governor plans new note issue
IRAQ - The Iraqi News Agency asked Iraqi Central Bank (ICB) Governor Dr Issam Rashid Huwaysh several questions on the ICB's measures to minimize the problems citizens experience from the scarcity and destruction of banknotes which impedes the circulation…
'Fingerprint' card system test in Malaysia
MALAYSIA - MasterCard International is testing an antifraud system meant to detect counterfeit payment cards by reading the properties and orientation of the microscopic particles in a magnetic stripe.
Brazil's interbank clearinghouse to bring benefits
BRAZIL - Brazil's new interbank payment clearinghouse is expected to stimulate online transactions between banks once it becomes operational, Brazilian financial daily Valor Economico reported.
BOJ to up security with new bank note issue
JAPAN - Novelist Ichiyo Higuchi (1872-1896), whose portrait is to be featured on a redesigned 5,000 yen bill, will be the first woman to appear prominently on Japanese paper currency since the end of World War II.
RBI group okays e-money
INDIA - The RBI Working Group on electronic money has said that e-money could be used as a substitute for the central bank notes and coins even though it would not be "desirable" to place any limit on storing monetary value in e-money.
Economic Review from the Atlanta Fed Bank
RESEARCH - The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta has published its Economic Review for the Second Quarter 2002. The Review features articles including 'The Economics of Payment Finality' and Asset Returns and Economic Risk.
Introduction of New Series Bank of Japan Notes
NOTE ISSUE - The Ministry of Finance has decided and announced the manufacture of new series of the 10,000 yen, 5,000 yen, and 1,000 yen Bank of Japan notes in order to improve their security against counterfeiting.
ECB report euro notes proving tough to counterfeit
GERMANY - The new euro bank note has proved bad news for forgers: less than a tenth of the previous number of counterfeit notes in the eurozone has been detected in the first six months in which the new currency has circulated.
Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems
REPORT - Bank for International Settlements, Statistics on payment and settlement systems in selected countries. Prepared by the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems of the Group of Ten Countries, Figures for 2000, released 31 July.
CCE to move US$10mn this year - Peru
PERU - Peru's electronic payment association (CCE) expects its online wire transfer and credit card payments facility to move US$10mn this year, Peruvian daily Gestion reported on Tuesday.
Central Banker, Summer 2002
REPORT - The Summer 2002 edition of the St. Louis Fed's Central Banker magazine has been published. This edition includes articles on why the St. Louis Fed was chosen as the No. 1 Treasury check-processing site and asks What can banks do to better manage…