Central Banking
Thai bank chief calls for focus on banking bills
Thailand's central bank governor Chatu Mongkol Sonakul on Friday urged the next government to treat as a priority the passing into law of pending banking legislation.
Indonesia: 'Halt the case against Sjahril'
A lawyer representing suspended Bank Indonesia governor Sjahril Sabirin in the Bank Bali scandal said on Friday that prosecution should be halted since other defendants in the case had been declared not guilty by a district court.
Intervention was to punish speculators -Duisenberg
European Central Bank President Wim Duisenberg said on Thursday recent ECB forays into foreign exchange markets were not aimed at pushing the euro to any level but at punishing those speculating against the currency.
BoT governor calls for more transparency in banks
Thai central bank governor Chatu Mongol Sonakul Thursday urged for more transparency and stricter supervision in the banking sector to help control the amount of non-performing loans in the system.
El Salvador to use dollar as 'parallel currency'
El Salvador will allow the US dollar to circulate freely alongside its own currency in the new year under a monetary law sent to Congress by the president on Thursday.
Diusenberg says UK euro tests are irrevelant
European Central Bank chief Wim Duisenberg today dismissed Gordon Brown's five economic tests for joining the single currency as irrelevant and insisted that Britain would have to join the European exchange rate mechanism for two years before adopting…
ECB inflation above target for next 6 months
European Central Bank President Wim Duisenberg said on Thursday it could take six months for Eurozone inflation to fall back to the ECB's 2% goal.
SAMA introduces sliding brokerage fees
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency has introduced a new sliding scale of brokerage fees taking effect from 1 January 2001.
South Korea economy heads for slowdown
South Korea posted a strong growth rate of 9.2% in the third quarter, but analysts warn that the economy could begin looking much weaker in the fourth quarter because of increased bankruptcies for debt-heavy companies and resulting job losses.
Russia's gold reserves up on last week
Russia's gold and foreign currency reserves were $26.5bn on 17 November, up from $26bn on 10 November, the central bank said in a press release on Thursday.
IMF mission leaves Russia with no agreement
Russia is likely to get a frosty reception from the Paris Club of sovereign creditors after an International Monetary Fund mission left Moscow this week without reaching agreement.
Trichet tempers optimism on world economic growth
French central bank governor Jean-Claude Trichet Thursday tempered optimistic forecasts for world growth, saying there remain uncertainties as to economic conditions.
Nigeria cenbank cuts lending rate to banks to 14%
The Central Bank of Nigeria announced on Thursday it had slashed its benchmark minimum rediscount rate (MRR) by 200 basis points to 14%, saying this reflected the low level of inflation in the West African country.
CNB board makes no policy change at meeting
The Czech central bank (CNB) said on Thursday its regular governing board meeting had ended and no monetary policy decisions had been taken.
Cuba tests new waters in foreign debt relief talks
Cuban envoys, testing uncharted waters, met foreign government representatives on Thursday to discuss what could amount to a landmark deal to alleviate the pain of Havana's crippling foreign debts.
NBS raps Slovak government for spending plans
The Slovak central bank (NBS) has raised its 2001 inflation forecast to between 6.8% to 7.7%, local news agency SITA reported on Thursday, citing an NBS document commenting on the government's 2001 budget proposal.
Argentina awaits emergency package from IMF
An emergency economic package required by the IMF will be passed in full within 30 days, Jose Luis Machinea, Argentina's economy minister, insisted on Thursday.
Norges Bank supports MeritaNordbanken's buy
The Norwegian central bank, Norges Bank, said Thursday it recommends to the Norwegian banking and insurance authority that Nordic Baltic Holding and its unit MeritaNordbanken (S.MNB) be allowed to acquire Christiania Bank og Kreditkassen (Y.CBK).
Timetable set for Bank Indonesia reform
The Indonesian parliament vowed Thursday to speed up deliberations on crucial changes of management and legal governance at the country's central bank.
Duma committee recommends FBK for cenbank audit
The Duma Banking Committee made a decision at a closed meeting today to recommend that the Duma approve the FBK company as a subcontractor of Deloitte & Touche for the audit of the central bank's annual report for 2000 at a session of the lower house on…
Bundesbank predicts soft landing for US economy
Signs of a gradual slowdown of the US economy are increasing, the Bundesbank said in its latest monthly report, citing the "sharp" decline in residential investment and government spending as the main contributions to the "tangible" slowdown in third…
Chile Q3 GDP grew 5.8% in quarter - central bank
Gross domestic product (GDP) for Chile, which is recovering from a recession, grew 5.8% in the third quarter of this year versus the same period last year, the central bank said on Thursday.
Zambia October annual inflation up to 28.6%
Zambia's annual inflation rose to 28.6% in October from 27.7% in September and 25.9% in August, the Bank of Zambia said on Thursday. The figure was higher than the October inflation rate of 24.3% given by the Treasury earlier in the week.
SNB sees gold as good diversification tool
The Swiss National Bank still sees gold as a good tool to diversify its reserves even though the central bank is gradually selling off half its original holdings of the metal, SNB Chairman Hans Meyer said.