Central Banking
BiH payment systems working well-cbank governor
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA - The new payments system in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has been in effect for three months, is working well, said Bosnia's central bank governor Peter Nicholl on Apr 5.
Bank Indonesia to pay govt 2 trillion rupiahs
INDONESIA - The Indonesian government said it intended to collect around Rp2 trillion in taxes from central Bank Indonesia in the near future to help plug the expected deficit in the 2001 state budget resulting from the rupiah depreciation.
Argentina's Cavallo criticizes central bank-media
ARGENTINA - Argentine Economy Minister Domingo Cavallo criticized the central bank on Apr 5 for keeping too tight a lid on bank deposits, arguing the lack of liquidity was partly responsible for high interest rates.
BOK appoints two new assistant governors
SOUTH KOREA - Choi Chang-ho, 54, director of the monetary policy department of the Bank of Korea, and Lee Jae-wook, 55, director of the international department, were promoted on Apr 4 to assistant governors of the central bank.
Alice Frisaufova is new spokesperson at CNB
CZECH REPUBLIC - The Czech National Bank board at its session on Apr 5 approved the appointment of Alice Frisaufova, communication manager and spokeswoman for Ahold, as a new spokeswoman for CNB and head of the bank's PR department.
E-economy: will we still need banks in the future
SPEECH - Wim Duisenberg, president of the European Central Bank, gave a speech on April 4 about the developments in electronic finance and the implications for banks. He is optimistic of the benefits, such as a more efficient allocation of capital, but…
FSA hosts major Basel conference-Apr 10-11
UNITED KINGDOM - The UK's Financial Services Authority is organising a two day conference in London on April 10-11 which will be a key milestone in the UK consultation on the revised Basel Capital Accord and the European Commission's proposals for…
The Adequacy of Hong Kong's Foreign Reserves
HONG KONG - Experience suggests that Hong Kong needs considerably more in foreign reserves than the bare theoretical minimum to maintain currency stability, says Joseph Yam, chief exexcutive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority in his weekly viewpoint…
Optimal monetary policy in a currency area
ARTICLE - Pierpaolo Benigno has written an paper "Optimal monetary policy in a currency area" for the Centre for Economic and Policy Research. The author concludes that the European Central Bank should give a higher weight to inflation in the countries…
Role of research in the policy process-Gramlich
SPEECH - US Federal Reserve governor Edward Gramlich gave a speech on Apr 5, 2001, about the usefulness of private sector research into financial services for helping the Fed measure up and assess how well its laws and regulations are achieving their…
Bank of England interest rate option study
CENTRAL BANK RESEARCH - In the first of a series of research papers published by the Centre for Central Banking Studies at the Bank of England, Richhild Moessner provides a survey of the structure and use of the over the counter options market focussing…
Kenya central bank governor Cheserem replaced
KENYA - Kenya's widely respected central bank governor Micah Cheserem has stepped down and been replaced by pensions official Nahashon Ngige Nyagah, the government announced on Apr 4, 2001.
Spain's Caruana-eurozone inflationary risks remain
SPAIN - Bank of Spain Governor Jaime Caruana said Apr 4, 2001 that inflationary risks in the euro zone are easing but continue to exist.
Austrian cbank says it sold 30 tonnes of gold
AUSTRIA - The Austrian National Bank said on Apr 5, 2001 that it had recently sold 30 tonnes of gold, ending speculation about who was behind sales that came to light in European Central Bank figures on Apr 4.
Limited boost to euro from Lithuania litas repeg
LITHUANIA - The euro will only get psychological boost from Lithuania's move towards pegging its litas to the euro as the accompanying shift in foreign exchange reserves is not seen generating much demand for euros.
African Development Bank gets new treasury head
AFRICA - The African Development Bank said on Apr 5, 2001 that Arunma Oteh, currently the manager of its investment division, had been appointed treasurer with effect from April 2.
Sri Lankan cbank amends finance firm rules
SRI LANKA - Finance companies in Sri Lanka will now be allowed to accept deposits from the public for up to five years instead of three years, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka said in a statement on Apr 5, 2001.
RBA Stevens optimistic on economic growth
AUSTRALIA - Reserve Bank of Australia assistant governor Glenn Stevens said on Apr 5, 2001 there is genuine uncertainty about Australia's short-term economic outlook, but he expected a return to normal rates of growth, possibly by mid-2001.
Norway c.bank keeps interest rates on hold
NORWAY - Norway's central bank kept interest rates on hold on Apr 4, 2001 and reaffirmed a neutral outlook for rates, in line with analysts' forecasts, after four hikes in key rates in 2000.
MAS promotes four senior officials
SINGAPORE - Effective April 1, Tharman Shanmugaratnam took office as the Monetary Authority of Singapore's new managing director, and three other officials were promoted to key positions, the central bank said in a statement issued late on Apr 4, 2001.
Bank of England cuts interest rates by 0.25%
UNITED KINGDOM - The Bank of England cut interest rates by another quarter point on Apr 5, 2001, bowing to pressure from tumbling stock markets and weakening economic data.
Danmarks Nationalbank Monetary Review
DENMARK - The Danmarks Nationalbank has released its quarterly Monetary Review, which includes a number of interesting articles written by the central bank's staff. There are two articles on risk management: one about managing interest rate risk in a…
BoE Plenderleith comments on sterling bond market
SPEECH - In a speech to a conference organised by the Association of British Insurers on Apr 2, 2001, Ian Plenderleith, executive director of the Bank of England and a member of the Monetary Policy Committee, reviews developments in the sterling non-gilt…
What central banks can and can't do-RBNZ Don Brash
SPEECH - The Reserve Bank of New Zealand's Governor Don Brash is urging people to be realistic about what monetary policy can achieve. Speaking to the Trans-Tasman Business Circle in Sydney, Dr Brash said that "In recent years ... the public have come to…