Financial Stability
Latvia under intensified devaluation pressure
The Bank of Latvia on Thursday issued a strongly-worded statement defending the lats after the Baltic state's currency crisis intensified on Wednesday following a failed government auction.
Bernanke announces Fed communication enhancements
In a bid to ease lawmakers' concerns over transparency, Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, has said that the central bank will publish several new reports on its lending.
Bank losses not as bad as 1990s, says Riksbank
The Riksbank has predicted a sharp, but manageable, rise in Swedish banks' loan losses, largely on the back of defaults by businesses in the Nordic region and the Baltic States.
Fed's governance structure should be revisited
The conventional model of central bank independence may need to be revisited given the unprecedented expansion of the Federal Reserve's balance sheet, new research from the International Monetary Fund notes.
Czech National Bank - Annual Report 2008
The Czech banking sector was not hit directly by the global financial crisis, says Zdenek Tuma, the governor of the country's central bank, in the latest Annual Report.
Plosser joins district criticism of Fed
Charles Plosser, the president of the Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, added his voice to a growing chorus of discontent from regional banks over the policies of the Washington-based Federal Reserve Board.
Macroprudential supervision for BoE - lawmakers
The Bank of England should be given responsibility for macroprudential supervision, recommends a report from Britain's House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee.
Finland's Hakkarainen: retail payments not core
Central banks should not provide retail-payment services themselves, said Pentti Hakkarainen, the deputy governor of the Bank of Finland.
Greece's Provopoulos: EU supervision overhaul hist
The European Commission's planned overhaul of the European Union's financial architecture is a historic step forward, said George Provopoulos, the governor of the Bank of Greece.
The Nederlands Bank - Annual Report 2008
In the years ahead, banks will reduce their dependence on short-term funding in the wholesale markets and focus more on serving domestic customers, says Nout Wellink, the president of the Dutch central bank in its latest Annual Report.
India's Subbarao: in crisis better to over-insure
It is safer, in crisis management, to err on the side doing too much rather than doing too little, said Duvvuri Subbarao, the governor of the Reserve Bank of India.
Barbados's Williams: FSB to look at corporates
It is important to clarify whether the Financial Stability Board's mandate extends beyond banks to the wider corporate world, said Marion Williams, the governor of the Central Bank of Barbados.
Markets discipline governments
Markets are exerting pressure on governments to improve the state of public finances and restore competitiveness, a new paper from the International Monetary Fund reveals.
Egyptian central bank to sell bank stake
Farouk al-Okdah, governor of the Central Bank of Egypt, told reporters that the central bank intends to sell its minority stake in British Arab Commercial Bank (BACB).
Latvia allays devaluation fears
Einars Repse, Latvia's finance minister and a former governor of the Bank of Latvia, on 29 May reinforced comments by Ilmars Rimsevics, the governor, that the country was not facing a currency devaluation.
CDS auctions improve settlement efficiency
Credit default swap (CDS) auctions have the potential to enhance the efficiency of settlement, new research from the New York Federal Reserve reveals.
Dallas's Fisher: do not politicise regional Feds
Richard Fisher, the president of the Dallas Federal Reserve called on US lawmakers not to "politicise" the central bank by taking a role in selecting the presidents of district banks.
Bank may extend support operations
Paul Tucker, deputy governor of the Bank of England said on 28 May that the Bank might give permanent form to some of the programmes it created specially during the financial crisis.
Japan's Shirakawa sees mild recovery ahead
Masaaki Shirakawa, the governor of the Bank of Japan, was guardedly optimistic in his outlook for the economy.
Norway's Qvigstad: banks need more capital
Banks need more capital to improve access to funding and to be more robust, said Jan Qvigstad, the deputy governor at the Norges Bank.
Debt discharge no guarantee for a clean start
Debt discharges fail to generate a fresh start as intended by the law, new research from the Federal Reserve Board posits.
EU to implement De Larosiere group's proposal
The European Commission has proposed a raft of ambitious reforms to the region's supervisory framework, building on guidelines set out in the recent De Larosiere report.
Macedonia's Goshev: stable exchange rate key goal
The National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia will continue its policy of focusing on the stability of the denar, said Petar Goshev, the governor of the central bank.
Spillovers to emerging markets still a reality
The current global financial crisis shows that the notion of possible decoupling of financial markets in developed and emerging economies has been misplaced, a new paper from the International Monetary Fund posits.