People
RBNZ appoints 'fresh' face to advisory role
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has appointed Terry McFadgen as a part-time monetary policy advisor. The RBNZ employs two people as external advisors (the other advisor is Malcolm Bailey) to bring an outside perspective to decision making processes. The…
RBA gets new Assistant Governor, Business Services
The Reserve Bank of Australia has appointed a new assistant governor for business services. The RBA said Dr Bob Rankin would begin the position in January, when current assistant governor Geoff Board moved to head the bank's European Representative…
Banknotes and the glass of water test
Le Duc Thuy, the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, had a novel way of proving the durability of Vietnam's new 500,000 dong Australian-made polymer-based banknotes by dipping one specimen into a glass of water to demonstrate, Reuters reports. "People…
New Chairman of the Joint Forum
Gay Huey Evans, Director of Markets at the UK Financial Services Authority, will succeed Jose Maria Roldan as Chairman of the Joint Forum, a group of experts working under the umbrella of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision in January 2004. She…
Tom Hoenig, from baseball to banking
During a recent visit to a Kansas City school, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Tom Hoenig reminisced about his early experiences of banking as a 12-year-old baseball fan. He needed $100 to buy new equipment and his father talked a local…
Hardest working man in central banking
The title undoubtedly goes to Jaime Caruana, governor of the Bank of Spain, chairman of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, and a member of the governing board of the European Central Bank. The frequent flyer miles are piling up as Mr Caruana…
Trichet the internationalist
Jean-Claude Trichet, the new president of the ECB, has a reputation as a polished performer. He lived up to it at his first press conference in Frankfurt: first praising his predecessor, apologising when consistency necessitated repetition and peppering…
Interview with BNB's Tsvetan Manchev
In an extensive interview published by Capital weekly, the National Bank of Bulgaria's deputy governor Tsvetan Manchev said that the BNB plans to carry out vocational training of its staff in preparation to take an active part in the banking system of…
Does Greenspan deserve another term?
Posing the question, "Does Greenspan deserve another term?" Joseph Salerno, who teaches economics at Pace University, answers with a resounding NO! Not only had the Fed's performance been "outstandingly bad" during the Greenspan years, it says, but the…
Trichet's home sweet home
After stepping into Wim Duisenberg's shoes at the start of November as President of the European Central Bank, it now transpires that Jean-Claude Trichet has also moved into Duisenberg's old house.
IMF eyes replacement for Geithner
Speaking last Friday, 21 November, IMF chief Horst Koehler that said he would appoint Mark Allen to replace Tim Geithner, who is now President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, according to Reuters. If approved by the IMF's executive board Allen…
St Louis Fed to lose over 130 staff
President of the St Louis Fed, William Poole, has said that the bank plans to close its Louisville branch next year, according to The Courier Journa, with staff numbers of 140 reduced to less than ten. The branch will maintain a board of directors in…
Central bank finest go East
After retiring from the Bank of England Sir Edward George joined the boards of NM Rothschild, Grosvenor, the Duke of Westminster's property group and Swiss confectioner Nestle, swapping gold bars for chocolate bars in the process. But now Sir Eddie, and…
New Vice Governor at BEAC
The Bank of Central African States, the central bank for Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon has appointed Pacifique Issoibeka as its new Vice Governor. Issoibeka joined the BEAC in 1973.
Is the Reserve Bank of India overstaffed?
India is a country well known for its huge population. But this article in Business Standard asks whether the Reserve Bank of India is itself overpopulated. The lower-rung jobs that form the bulk of its strength can be significantly cut down, it says.
Broaddus of Richmond Fed announces plan to retire
J. Alfred Broaddus, Jr., president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, announced on Thursday 13 November that he plans to retire on August 1, 2004, according to Associated Press. He turns 65 next July. 'It has been a great privilege to serve the…
Metcalfe named chair of St. Louis Fed's Board
The Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis has named Walter Metcalfe Jr. as chairman of its Board of Governors, with effect from 1 January 2004, reports the St Louis Business Journal. Gayle Jackson has been named deputy chair.
Baghdad's central bankers come under fire
Staff at the central bank of Iraq were evacuated on Monday 17 November while a rocket that landed close to the bank was defused, according to a report by AFP. The centre of Baghdad came under intense fire on Sunday with a report saying the central bank…
Ben Bernanke takes oath of office for new Fed term
Ben Bernanke took the oath of office last Friday, 14 November, for a new term on the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors. The ceremony was conducted by Chairman Alan Greenspan in his office and was witnessed by Bernanke's wife and children.
Sports talk, central bank style
Mervyn King is a well known supporter of English premier league football team Aston Villa. But the Bank of England Governor doesn't confine his support to the stadium. Last weeks Inflation Report presentation continued King's regular habit of making…
Executives face pay cut at Bank of Japan
The Bank of Japan (BOJ) said last Tuesday that it will cut annual pay for its executives for fiscal 2003 by 2.9% from the previous year, Kyodo News reported. The decision follows a cut by the same margin in fiscal 2003 pay for special government…
Sierra Leone appoints a new deputy governor
Mohamed Sanpha Fofanah has been appointed the new deputy governor of the central bank of Sierra Leone, PANA News said. He replaces Melvin Tucker who was described in an official statement, the report said, as "the encyclopaedia of the central bank".
New RBZ governor speaks of challenges ahead
Gideon Gono was appointed governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe last week. Gono, a prominent banker, was appointed by President Mugabe and follows the announcement of a planned overhaul of the central bank. After accepting the job Gono spoke of it as…
Ex -cb chief runs for presidency of Mauritania
Ahmed Ould Daddah, the brother of Mauritania's first president, Mouktar Ould Daddah, who died last month, is a veteran politician and head of the opposition Union of Democratic Forces-New Era. The 70-year old is also a former governor of the central bank…