Central Banking
Fed likely to pass buck on predatory lending
An article published in the American Banker journal says that consumer groups hoping for the Federal Reserve Board to start cracking down on predatory lenders may be sorely disappointed when the central bank takes up the issue Wednesday.
HKMA, HSBC beef up anti-counterfeiting measures
Hong Kong's quasi central bank the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corp. unveiled Monday new security features to combat widespread counterfeiting of Hongkong Bank's HK$1,000 notes.
Iran central bank allocates $1bn to private sector
Central Bank of Iran announced that it has allocated $1bn to the private sector. The money was drawn from the foreign exchange reserve fund which was set up to deposit surplus oil revenues.
Bk Indonesia to adopt risk-based bank supervision
Bank Indonesia will gradually shift its banking supervision system from the current compliance-based mechanism to include the internationally practiced risk-based system starting next year, according to a senior official at the central bank.
Clock keeps ticking on naming new BoC head
Time is running out for Gordon Thiessen's term as Bank of Canada governor, and there is still no official word concerning who will become his successor.
EC put pressure on Germany's Landesbank reform
The following is an article from The Economist magazine entitled "Under pressure from the European Commission, Germany's public-sector banks are thinking openly about reforming themselves."
Euro too weak for Britain - BoE's governor
Governor of the Bank of England Sir Edward George said Sunday that Britain cannot afford to contemplate joining the euro until it strengthens.
RBZ To announce new monetary policy measures
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor, Leonard Tsumba, is expected to announce new monetary policy measures for the year 2001 by the end of this month, a central bank spokesman said this week.
Nice EU Treaty needed for European Central Bank
As European Union leaders gather in Nice to reform the bloc's decision making processes in preparation for enlargement, one crucial item is absent from the agenda: the European Central Bank. A new paper by the Centre for Economic Policy Research says…
Ottawa stays mum on Canada's new bank governor
A veil of mystery is hanging over the Bank of Canada. Even the date for announcing the next central bank governor is as much of a puzzle as who the new chief will be.
Crisis mgmt hit by joining euro, UK Lords say
The government's ability to manage the economy in a crisis could be hamstrung if Britain joins the euro, a House of Lords committee warned today.
Nigeria parliament urged to legislate on e-banking
The Nigerian National Assembly has been called upon to pass appropriate legislation that will address the problem of fraud and other peculiarities of electronic banking, if Nigeria must enjoy full benefits of e-banking.
Czech c.bank less concerned over crown strength
The Czech central bank is less concerned over the strength of the crown currency as the country's economic recovery grows more robust, CNB vice governor Ludek Niedermayer said in an interview on Friday.
Rohatinski steps down until new cbank law passed
Croatia's central bank governor Zeljko Rohatinski said on Friday he would step down until parliament passed a new law which will regulate the work of the monetary authority in line with European criteria.
Swiss franc ends off lows after SNB holds fire
The Swiss franc ended off lows against the dollar after the Swiss National Bank left interest rates unchanged, as expected, and said it detected no major inflationary pressure on the horizon.
Kenyan rate bill MP wants cenbank chief to go
A Kenyan parliamentarian whose controversial bill to control commercial bank interest rates was passed by parliament this week now wants the country's central bank governor to resign.
SNB to publish studies to explain forecasts
Swiss National Bank chairman Hans Meyer said on Friday the bank intended to publish several studies in the near future which would explain its forecasting activities in some detail.
Whither Bank Indonesia?
Should Bank Indonesia be re-capitalised like its neighbour in the Philippines to prevent the Indonesian economy sliding further into desperation? An article by newspaper Asia Pulse.
Secrecy off for deposits above P50M in Philippines
Scoring a crucial victory against money laundering, the House of Representatives has given the Bangko Sentral the power to examine suspicious deposit accounts more than P50 million under the proposed Revised Central Bank Act.
US Senate gives 11% raise for Greenspan
The Senate passed a bill that gives Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan an 11% raise and puts the long-held tradition of the central bank chief's twice-yearly Capitol Hill testimony in writing. The bill, passed by voice vote, now goes to President…
Milosevic bank delivers secrets of corrupt regime
Beogradska Banka funded the Yugoslav dictator's cronies and paid off potential foes. Irena Guzelova in this article reprinted from The Financial Times glimpses the dealings.
Jakarta denies accusing c.bank head over fake cash
Indonesia's chief economics minister Rizal Ramli denied on Friday newspaper reports he had accused central bank governor Syahril Sabirin of being linked to counterfeiting at the embattled bank.
Banker confirms downturn of Costa Rican economy
The President of the Central Bank of Costa Rica, Eduardo Lizano, confirmed Friday a dramatic deceleration of economy with GDP growth down to 1.4% this year from 8.2% of the year before.
ECB head sees rosy future for euro
The president of the European Central Bank, Wim Duisenberg, has spoken about a turnaround in euro exchange rates for the first time, telling Japanese newspaper The Yomiuri Shimbun in an interview in Frankfurt that the European currency could keep rising.