Regulation
Comment: When will Basel II bite
The Basel committee's members are committed to implement their new capital accord in just 15 months. The basic framework should go live on January 1, 2007; with the most advanced approaches following at the end of 2008. But what about those non-member…
Bosnia highlights banking supervision need
Bosnia and Herzegovina's Principal Deputy High representative Larry Butler highlighted the need to centralise banking supervision in BiH under the central bank on Thursday 29 September.
Bies on Basel II developments in the US
In the speech 'Basel II developments in the United States' given on 26 September Susan Schmidt Bies of the Federal Reserve said the Fed is still assessing the potential effects of proposed new international banking regulations on U.S. banks and hopes to…
Italy considers banking supervision transfer
The Italian parliament will examine the transfer of competition supervision in the banking sector to the antitrust agency from the Bank of Italy, the daily MF said.
NY Fed's Rutledge on bank supervision
In the speech 'Bank supervision and financial center development' given on 1 September William Rutledge of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said the Federal Reserve's efforts as a supervisor have contributed to the strength and resiliency of our…
Paraguay's banking regulator chief resigns
Paraguay's banking regulator Rodrigo Ortiz has resigned from his post, a central bank source confirmed, according to Bnamericas. Ortiz had been head of the banking regulatory agency since 2003.
Fed's Olson on regulatory relief
In testimony 'Regulatory relief' given on 22 September Mark Olson of the Federal Reserve said federal regulators see no evidence of significant funding difficulties or problems with balance sheet management at banks in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina.
IMF endorses adjustment to (AML/CFT) program
The IMF said on Thursday 22 September that it has endorsed an adjustment of the IMF's anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) program to focus more on tackling the challenges faced by countries implementing standards and…
IMF's clout and relevance wane
As finance ministers and central bankers from around the world gather in Washington this week for the IMF's annual meetings, the organization finds its relevance waning, this article published on Monday 19 September reports. The Fund may need to define a…
Mexico's financial regulator needs more autonomy
According to this article published on Monday 19 September, despite impressive progress more must be done if Mexico is to have a credible set of enforceable rules that assure economic stability.
GSE bill vote seen this week
The U.S. House of Representatives may vote on legislation to rein in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac this week, a key lawmaker has said.
Time to go, Mr. Fazio
The agenda set out in this article published Monday 12 September is clear. Bank of Italy governor Antonio Fazio must go. Even if nobody can legally force him out, the campaign for his resignation will not go away, it says.
Offshoring set to double by 2008
The scale of offshoring in the financial services sector is set to virtually double by 2008, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers latest survey entitled Offshoring in the financial services industry: Risks and rewards, launched on Thursday 15 September.
Global money transfers international conference
The first major international conference on global money transfers will take place in London at the Institute of Directors on October 17 and 18 attended by financial institutions worldwide.
Comment: More autonomy for the PBOC?
The IMF board is plainly split on what attitude to adopt towards China's exchange rate policy but has come out usefully supporting moves to give the People's bank of China more discretion in setting interest rates.
Comment: Preventing terrorist financing
Public policymaking, at its most simple, involves promoting public goods, preventing public bads and creating processes and structures which make sure this happens.
Central banking and supervisory challenges
The IMF is holding a conference 'Financial Stability - Central banking and supervisory challenges' in Washington on 6-7 September. The conference will address key financial stability issues posing challenges to central bankers and supervisors around the…
Brazil looks to strengthen AML regime
A bill has been presented to the Brazilian Congress which would bolster anti money laundering rules and give the central bank more control over transactions.
The FSA sharpens its claws
The UK Financial Services Authority has signed a new agreement with the City of London police, which enhances its ability to pursue corporate criminals.
Basel II may feed volatility
Despite recognising that the new Basel accord is "widely viewed as a much needed effort to deal with the shortcoming of the current system", a recent working paper by the Bank of England (BoE) raises new concerns about how the accord may exacerbate…
Kohn to replace Gramlich on loan guarantee boards
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan on Wednesday 17 August named Governor Donald L. Kohn to replace Governor Edward M. Gramlich as the Chairman's designee on four federal loan guarantee boards, effective 1 September.
Fazio should be forced out of the Bank of Italy
According to this article published on Monday 15 August, Antonio Fazio has tossed aside the few strict principles a central banker must follow. He has become an embarrassment, it says, and there is now no credible way he can remain in office.
MAS's Shanmugaratnam on money-changing businesses
In a speech given on 15 August Tharman Shanmugaratnam of the Monetary Authority Of Singapore said the Bill expands the scope of MAS' powers to revoke or suspend a money-changer's or remittance licence to include cases where the licensee has failed to…
Why do we regulate?
This article looks at the need to regulate banks. It quotes a recent paper which says it is difficult to identify a sound policy reason for regulating banks. We do so because we want to, not because we must, it says.