Regulation
Bollard on bank regulation and supervision in NZ
In a speech on 'Bank regulation and supervision in New Zealand: recent and ongoing developments' given on 23 March, Alan Bollard of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand said a major shock to the Australian economy or the mismanagement of a major Australian…
The accountability of financial sector supervisors
Policymakers' uneasiness about granting independence to financial sector regulators stems to a large extent from the lack of familiarity with the concept of accountability. This IMF Working Paper gives operational content to accountability and argues…
Singapore plans Islamic banking boost
Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that the country plans legal changes to make it easier for banks to offer Islamic banking services.
Implementation of Basel II in New Zealand
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand announced on Friday 18 March that it will allow both the "Internal Ratings Based" and "Advanced Measurement" Approaches in the implementation of the Basel II capital framework in New Zealand.
Fed's Bies on Bank Secrecy Act & compliance
In a speech on 'Bank Secrecy Act and capital compliance issues' given on 14 March, Susan Schmidt Bies of the Federal Reserve said US regulators are drafting new guidelines for banks to comply with a law to stop money laundering.
Financial Stability Forum hold 13th meeting, Tokyo
The Financial Stability Forum (FSF) met on 11 March in Tokyo. Members discussed risks and vulnerabilities in the international financial system and reviewed ongoing work to mitigate sources of vulnerability.
Fed's Greenspan on bank regulation
In a speech on 'Bank regulation' given on 11 March, Alan Greenspan of the Federal Reserve acknowledged that a new global pact on banking may hurt some business lines at small U.S. banks, but said regulators may look at tweaking capital rules to ease this.
RBI plans to restructure divisions
According to a report on Thursday 10 March the Reserve Bank of India is restructuring itself in order to streamline operations. Banking sources were quoted as saying the RBI is in the process of moving divisions into separate units.
SEANZA central banks see liberalisation gains
Central bankers from Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand (SEANZA) met this week and agreed to assess the impact of global financial liberalisation on regional monetary, exchange rate and banking supervision policy.
Bank of Italy escapes supervisory power limit
Italy's lower house of Parliament voted on Wednesday 2 March not to remove the Bank of Italy's authority over competition and mergers in the banking sector.
Interview with RBI's deputy governor Udeshi
In a recent interview deputy governor Kishori Udeshi of the Reserve Bank of India said that India's banks are beginning to move towards international banking practices by working to implement Basel II guidelines.
PBOC's Xiaoling on the corporate bond market
In the speech 'Develop corporate bond market to improve financial asset structure' given on 17 January (published 7 Feb), Wu Xiaoling of the People's Bank of China said advancing the development of the corporate bond market is of realistic significance…
Most G7 favour IMF gold sales idea - report
A majority of Group of Seven members favour selling some of the International Monetary Fund's gold reserves to finance debt relief, a German newspaper on Friday 25 February reported G7 sources as saying.
Qatar set to host 2nd Islamic financial summit
The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) is to hold its second summit in Doha, Qatar on 24-25 May 2005, with the Central Bank of Qatar as the host, the summit secretariat said.
HKMA's Yam on Basel II: Back to the future
In the speech 'Basel II: Back to the future' given on 4 February, Joseph Yam of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said the new framework of capital adequacy standards for banks, issued by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, is an important step…
Le Pan on the implementation of Basel II
In a speech on 'Implementation of Basel II' given on 1 February (published 11 February) Nicholas Le Pan of the Basel Committee said that as we approach each issue of implementing Basel II - when, how and so on - it is important to keep in mind not only…
UAE central bank, Isle of Man sign cooperation MOU
The UAE central bank signed a memorandum of understanding with the Isle of Man Financial Supervision Commission (IOMFSC) on Monday 21 February.
PBOC's Wu: China needs to ease lending controls
China needs to move towards easing strict controls over private lending, legalizing the business in order to mitigate lending risk for banks, the China Business News reported, citing a senior official from the People's Bank of China.
Italy's Fazio says bank sector not protectionist
Bank of Italy governor Antonio Fazio has told the European Commission that the Italian banking sector is not protectionist, the Financial Times reported.
Launch of Malaysia's Financial Mediation Bureau
In a speech given on 20 January Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz of the Central Bank of Malaysia said the scope of the Financial Mediation Bureau has been expanded to cover Islamic banks and development financial institutions, as well as selected payment system…
Zhou on corporate governance & capital markets
In a speech 'Improve corporate governance and develop capital market' given on In the speech 'Improve corporate governance and develop capital market' given 1 December (published 28 Jan), Zhou Xiaochuan of the People's Bank of China said the development…
Iran, Tajikistan discuss banking cooperation
Representatives from the central banks of Iran and Tajikistan on Friday 11 February discussed possible areas where they could increase banking cooperation.
Letters reveal 'low point' for Sir Eddie
Letters released this week by the UK Treasury showed that Gordon Brown's decision to remove responsibility for banking supervision from the Bank of England almost prompted Sir Edward George, the Bank's governor to resign.
FATF welcomes China as an observer
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), meeting in Paris from 9 to 11 February 2005, has welcomed for the first time the People's Republic of China to attend its Plenary meeting as an observer.