Central Banks
Five months to E-day and euro use still limited
EUROPE - Five months before the introduction of euro notes and coins, the use of the single currency remains limited in almost every country in the 12-nation eurozone, the European Commission warned yesterday, 27 July.
Peru's new finance minister sees changes at c bank
PERU - Incoming Finance Minister Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said on 26 July that former central bank chief Richard Webb will likely become the new president of the Central Reserve Bank of Peru.
Singapore sets new liquidity levels for banks
SINGAPORE - The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today, 27 July, moved to introduce a new risk-based liquidity supervision system for banks, which will increase their flexibility to manage funds but may not immediately boost profits, analysts said.
Philippine c bank may cut reserve requirements
PHILIPPINES - Philippine Central bank Governor Rafael Buenaventura said today, 27 July, that as the economy picks up later in the year the liquidity reserve requirements of banks would be lowered to channel more funds into the economy.
Russian central bank says monetary base rose
RUSSIA - Monetary base rose to 614.1 billion rubles as of 23 July which is up 0.2% from 613.1 billion rubles as of 16 July, the Central Bank of Russia said in a report on 27 July.
ECB estimates new reserve target at 127 bn euros
GERMANY - The European Central Bank said on 27 June its estimated reserve requirement for the current maintenance period was 127.0 billion euros.
IMF accord enters calculation stage
UNITED STATES - The Brazilian delegation in Washington keeps making ambiguous statements on the possibility of a new accord with the IMF but, according to a source at the IMF, they are "making their calculations".
Speech by Sushil Wadhwani of the Bank of England
SPEECH - Sushil Wadhwani of the Bank of England's MPC committee spoke on 24 July.
Paper - Reserve Bank of Australia 2001 Conference
RESEARCH - A paper titled 'A Monetary Union in Asia? Some European Lessons' was presented at the RBA's 2001 conference, Future Directions for Monetary Policies in East Asia.
IMF and World Bank to ease debt rules
US - International finance officials are meeting in Washington today, 26 July, to look at ways to overhaul and simplify the strings attached to the loans they make to poor countries.
EU want equality of charges for payments
ARTICLE - EC news release, 25 July, Commission proposes principle of equality of charges for domestic payments and cross-border payments in euros.
S.African central bank says launching MPC review
SOUTH AFRICA - South Africa's central bank said today, 26 July, it was launching a review of the operations of its 14-member monetary policy committee (MPC) which would be completed by the end of September 2001.
National Bank of Slovakia - Annual Report 2000
ANNUAL REPORT - The Narodna Banka Slovenska, (National Bank of Slovakia) has published its Annual Report 2000. Marian Jusko, the governor of the bank, describes a period of continued macroeconomic stabilisation and a decrease in the currant account…
Bank of Israel - Annual Report 2000
ANNUAL REPORT - The Bank of Israel, Foreign Currency Department, has published its Annual Report 2000.
Australasian union could see trade double - paper
AUSTRALIA - Australia could enjoy a doubling in trade with New Zealand if the two countries embarked on a path of currency union, a discussion paper presented to a Reserve Bank of Australia conference on 24 July concluded.
Bahrain to set up liquidity management centre
BAHRAIN - Bahrain plans to establish a US$50 million liquidity management centre (LMC) to help meet the needs of Islamic banks and financial institutions.
Hungary publishes euro recommendations for banks
HUNGARY - The National Bank of Hungary (MNB) has published recommendations to commercial banks regarding the introduction of euro coins and notes in 12 EU member states as of 1 January 2002.
Italian bank chief backs Berlusconi's policies
ITALY - Antonio Fazio, the governor of the Bank of Italy, on 24 July gave strong backing to the economic policies of Silvio Berlusconi's new centre-right government, blaming the prime minister's predecessors for giving the country a low rate of economic…
Russia to draft new forex control law by October
RUSSIA - The Russian government intends to draft a new, more liberal law on hard currency controls and regulations by October, the Finance Ministry said yesterday, 24 July.
Australasia must be considered in Asia union
AUSTRALIA - Australia and New Zealand should be considered in any move towards monetary union in Asia, a discussion paper at a Reserve Bank of Australia conference in Sydney on 24 July concluded.
S.Africa's Mboweni urges black empowerment support
SOUTH AFRICA - South Africa's central bank governor Tito Mboweni said that although laws could help address the issue of black empowerment in South Africa, public commitment was crucial.
Central bank guidelines on credit extension
NIGERIA - The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) lived up to its billing in pursuit of its function of promoting monetary stability and a sound financial system when last week it rolled out a new guideline on public spending, reports All Africa Global Media,…
Big Chinese banks reduce bad loans increase profit
CHINA - China's four major state-run commercial banks have all reported strong profit for the first half of the year as they continued to reduce a heavy portfolio of bad loans, however their risk management skills are limited.
Monetary Policy: The End of History?
SPEECH - Stephen Grenville, Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia gave a speech on 20 July at the Monetary Authority of Singapore 30th Anniversary Conference on Central Banking in The New Economic and Financial Landscape, Singapore.