News
New Deputy Governor joins Barbados central bank
BARBADOS - The Central Bank of Barbados has welcomed its new Deputy Governor, Carlos Holder. Mr. Holder took up responsibilities for the Research and Bank Supervision Departments, effective 1 June.
Indonesia Bank deputy takes economic minister post
INDONESIA - Floundering Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid reshuffled his economic ministers on 12 June, a move analysts dismissed as pointless and not enough to save him from impeachment in August.
Trichet says there are no divisions on ECB council
FRANCE - Bank of France governor Jean-Claude Trichet said on 12 June that the governing council of the European Central Bank spoke with one voice and had no real difference of opinion with eurozone finance ministers.
Polish MPC should explain not preach
POLAND - Poland's Monetary Policy Council (MPC) needs to explain better to the public the rationale behind its high interest rates or face a "war" with an increasingly hostile government, a top independent economist said on 12 June.
Reserve Bank of India names new deputy governors
INDIA - India has appointed two new deputy governors for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and has extended the term of Y.V. Reddy who was to step down in August.
BIS publishes its Annual Report 2000/01
SWITZERLAND - The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) released its 71st Annual Report for 2000/01 today, 11 June. It is holding its annual general meeting in Basel.
Pakistan not ready for Islamic banking deadline
PAKISTAN - Pakistan is not ready to meet a 1 July supreme court deadline to implement interest-free Islamic banking and its financial institutions are likely to request more time to make the change, officials said on 7 June.
Reynders asks ECB to test early euro notes release
BRUSSELS - Belgian Finance Minister Didier Reynders has said he has asked the European Central Bank to consider "testing" automatic cash dispensers shortly before 1 January next year to ensure they could release euro notes.
Japan economic council urges flexible BOJ policy
TOKYO - Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's economic policy council urged the Bank of Japan on 11 June to carry out a flexible monetary easing policy if needed while the economy is in an adjustment phase.
Slovakian cen bank asked to permit capital entry
SLOVAKIA - On 8 June a potential investor in Devin Banka, a.s. officially asked the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) to permit acquisition of higher than a 50-percent stake in its share capital.
ABC Islamic to launch sharia credit cards
BAHRAIN - Bahrain-based ABC Islamic Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Arab Banking Corporation, is in the process of establishing a vehicle for the marketing of sharia-compliant credit cards.
Brazil c-bank may transfer liquidation admin
BRAZIL - The central bank of Brazil is involved in a debate on transferring the administration of financial institutions in liquidation from the Central Bank to the Credit Guarantee Fund (FGC).
Egypt central bank dollar requests mount up
EGYPT - Egyptian banks have accumulated requests for hundreds of millions of dollars with the Central Bank which has not released any dollars into the market in over a month, banking sources and newspapers said on 7 June.
Greenspan may face rougher ride from critic
US - Following the decision by James Jeffords, the Vermont senator, to quit the Republican party and hand control of the Senate to the Democrats, Paul Sarbanes, one of Mr Greenspan's biggest critics, assumes the chairmanship of the important Senate…
Irish may reject Nice Treaty
IRELAND - Just over 30 percent of Irish voters took part in a referendum on the Nice Treaty on 7 June. RTE, the Irish state broadcaster, says early indications are that "there is a strong possibility the Nice Treaty may have been rejected by the voters."
Blair win good for monetary union - ECB's Domingo
SPAIN - European Central Bank board member Eugenio Domingo Solans said on 8 June that the victory of Prime Minister Tony Blair in Britain's general election was positive for European monetary union.
Bush wants bank executive on Federal Reserve Board
US - President Bush has decided to nominate Susan Bies, a top official with a Tennessee bank, as a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, a senior White House official said on 8 June.
Thank you, academics, for making up my mind
UK - A letter signed by 15 leading UK academics supporting Britain's entry into the euro has provoked several passionate responses.
US economist offered key IMF role
US - A conservative economist aligned with the US administration has been offered the key job of first deputy managing director at the International Monetary Fund.
Speech by Fed governor Laurence H Meyer
SPEECH - Federal Reserve governor Laurence H. Meyer has given a speech before the New York Association for Business Economics and The Downtown Economists, New York on 6 June.
Worries as German's remember 'wheelbarrow money'
GERMANY - A survey has revealed that more than half the population of Germany remain wary about the introduction of euro notes and coins fearing it will lead to price rises as retailers use the opportunity to round up prices following conversion into the…
ECB keeps interest rates on hold
EUROPE - The European Central Bank has maintained the key interest rate for the 12 countries within the eurozone at 4.5%.
IMF will grant loan to Yugoslavia in June - Dep PM
YUGOSLAVIA - The International Monetary Fund will grant its first stand-by loan to Yugoslavia this month even though the country's failure to adopt a war crimes law had been expected to block aid, Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub Labus said on 7 June.
Polish c-bank to reveal wages of top officials
POLAND - The National Bank of Poland (NBP) will reveal the salaries of its top officials on 7 June after deputies questioned why the pay of public servants was secret, senior central bank official Pawel Narozny said.