Governance
Graeme Wheeler to replace Bollard as New Zealand governor
New Zealand unveils World Bank veteran Graeme Wheeler as replacement for RBNZ governor Alan Bollard
New York Fed appoints new head of markets group
Simon Potter named as chief of markets group and manager of the System Open Markets Account; begins new role on June 30
Norwegian governor discusses fund risk rebalancing
Øystein Olsen considers need for pension fund to rebalance its portfolio in response to changing risk; argues that rebalancing is justified
Former Brazilian governor takes additional advisory role
Henrique Meirelles appointed as senior adviser at Kohlberg Kravis Roberts; adds firm to a substantial list of board positions and advisory roles
Croatian National Bank facing governance void
Governor Željko Rohatinski’s term ends in early July; no successor has yet been announced by government
FSA’s Sants airs fears of overburdened BoE governor
Hector Sants says operational tasks handed to Bank of England governor under recent reforms could be “too great”; slams government and BoE for not listening to advice concerning Northern Rock collapse
Hildebrand settles at BlackRock
Former Swiss National Bank governor takes job as vice-chairman at BlackRock; joins in October to advise the firm’s largest institutional clients in the EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions
Japanese prime minister nominates new rate-setters
Two new board members put forward by Yoshihiko Noda; nominations need approval by both houses of the Japanese parliament
Bank of Uganda awaits confirmation of four board members
The terms of four out of six members of the Bank of Uganda’s Board expired in June; no word yet on replacements
Zeti stresses importance of training in improving bank governance
Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia says training for directors of financial institutions is an effective method of promoting financial stability; praises FIDE programme’s role in achieving this
Bank of Spain deputy governor resigns
Francisco Javier Aríztegui resigns as Bank of Spain deputy governor; Fernando Restoy Lozano named as replacement
PBoC hires banker as deputy governor
Top executive leaves Agricultural Bank of China to become deputy governor at the People’s Bank of China; brings total number of deputy governors to four
New Bank of Spain governor named
Miguel Angel Fernandez Ordoñez’s successor is chosen; will assume the top role at the central bank on June 11
South African Mint executives leave company for good
Andile Mvinjelwa and Thomas Davel leave South African Mint Company by mutual agreement following conclusion of investigation into poor-quality krugerrand coins
Eight central bankers perish in Nigerian plane crash
Several employees of the Central Bank of Nigeria were killed in the June 3 plane crash in Lagos; among them was Canadian national Kim Norris, who was working as an adviser to the governor
India’s economic policy set to undermine RBI’s ‘good’ work
The Reserve Bank of India was one of few central banks around the world to have a ‘good crisis’ but its reputation is under threat from the country’s current economic policies
ECB delivers blow to Hungarian central bank law
The European Central Bank says the amended draft central bank law still “fails to address” concerns over independence; continued uncertainty leaving central bank operations unstable
Andrew Bailey to join interim UK Financial Policy Committee
Bailey to join June meeting of interim Financial Policy Committee as a voting member; takes over as head of the Prudential Business Unit at the FSA in the same month
Brazil’s Tombini seeks appointment of new director
Governor of the Central Bank of Brazil nominates candidate to become director of special affairs; former governor Henrique Meirelles announced as chairman of Lazard Americas
Former Italian governor acquitted in market-rigging case
Antonio Fazio sees prison term for market-rigging regarding sale of Banca Nazionale del Lavoro in 2005 overturned; still facing jail in another case
Outgoing governor criticises Spanish government’s fiscal position
Miguel Fernández Ordóñez, outgoing governor of the Bank of Spain, criticises government’s fiscal position; speculation begins over successor
New members admitted to BoE Court
Queen of England approves government recommendations; Bradley Fried, Tim Frost and Dave Prentis become non-executive directors of the Bank of England
Central bankers need to address problem of ‘groupthink’, says Shiller
Members of central bank committees need to dig deep to assert their ‘moral commitment’ and actively avoid falling into the trap of ‘groupthink’ when making decisions, says economist Robert Shiller
Ingves says Europe not ready for common regulatory capital rules
Basel Committee chairman Stefan Ingves says Europe lacks necessary common legal powers and mechanisms to standardise regulatory capital treatment; advises Europe against introducing a Tobin tax