Banks
How Independent are Arab Central Banks?
An article in the Middle east Financial Network says that one way to measure the independence of a central bank is to consider the period of the governor's term and how often it is renewed. A number of Arab central bank governors and their deputies, it…
ABM lauds Bank Negara monetary measures
Malaysia's Association of Banks has praised measures set out by the central bank governor in the 2002 Annual Report. It said the steps would help maintain growth and support business activity.
Kansas City Fed's Hoenig:Community banks important
Kansas Fed President Thomas Hoenig said on Friday March 14 that community banks are important to the financial system by specializing in relationship banking and providing credit to small businesses, according to a report by Reuters.
How much gold will the central banks sell?
MONDAY FEATURE - Until recently there was a widespread expectation that central banks would continue to unload gold from their reserves on quite a large scale for many years to come. But this assumption is now being called into question. What is the…
Outgoing BoJ chief doubts market interventions use
Speaking on Friday Bank of Japan governor Masaru Hayami said he thought central banks attempts to intervene in the foreign exchange market were not vary effective.
Bank of Mexico in paintings mix up with government
CentralBankNet hears of an unfortunate mix up involving valuable paintings, the Bank of Mexico and an apparent infringement of copyright on the central banks fine art collection.
Norges Bank Press Release, 5 Mar
PRESS RELEASE - Norges Bank has decided to reduce the interest rate on banks' deposits with Norges Bank, the sight deposit rate, by 0.50 percentage point with effect from 6 March. The interest rate on banks' overnight loans will also be reduced by 0.50…
Bundesbank may opt to sell gold reserves - report
Mr Welteke, president of the Bundesbank, was reported as saying that the Bundesbank may become a party to the upcoming agreement among gold-holding central banks of Europe to sell part of their gold reserves. The new agreement may allow for increased…
OCC blow to Basel II timing
Hopes of finalising the new Basel capital accord in 2003 took a blow Monday as US Comptroller of the Currency John D. Hawke said in a speech that the OCC would insist on changes to the accord if, after a round of public consultation, US banks were not…
Brazil's interest rate increase wins IMF support
The IMF praised Brazil's central banks decision to increase interest rates saying that the move will help control inflation.
RBI issues risk management guidelines
In its guidelines on country risk management, the Reserve Bank of India has asked banks to address issues of identifying, measuring, monitoring and controlling country exposure risks in their country risk management policies.
EU banking sector stability report
REPORT - The European Central Bank (ECB) released on 24 February a report on the stability of the EU banking sector. The report was prepared by the Banking Supervision Committee of the European System of Central Banks, which comprises representatives…
EU's Solbes: ECB reform proposals not ideal
The European Central Bank's proposals to change the voting system for its governing council have not been received warmly. The Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Pedro Solbes has described the proposals as "not the ideal solution".
Ukraine: Security Service may join c bank's board
The chairman of the National Bank of Ukraine, Serhiy Tyhypko, has said he is not opposed to including members of Ukraine's uniformed ministries on the bank's board.
The Bank of Canada and the search for a new No. 2
ARTICLE - The Bank of Canada has received a wide range of inquiries from both inside and outside the bank to fill its No. 2 job, the central bank's selection committee chairman said on Friday.
EU Commission wants joint action by central banks
The EU Commission is in favour of a joint effort by all international central banks if a war in Iraq should weaken the world economy, financial daily Boersen-Zeitung said, citing an internal note from the EU's economic and monetary affairs commissioner…
Venezuela cen bank cuts discount rate to 39 pct
Venezuela's Central Bank on Tuesday lowered its discount rate for local banks seeking to borrow money to meet reserve requirements from 42 percent to 39 percent.
BIS Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - Central banks to collect more in-depth statistics on banks' country risk exposures, 7 February.
Financial Services Policy Committee Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - Federal Reserve Banks Announce Changes to Increase EfficiencyIn Check Services as Check Volumes Decline Nationwide, 6 Feb.
Greenspan to deliver Senate report next week
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan is scheduled to appear before a Senate panel next week to deliver the central bank's semi-annual report on the health of the economy, a Senate Banking Committee aide said on Tuesday.
Interview with Nobuyuki Nakahara
INTERVIEW - Currently an adviser to Japan's Financial Services Agency Nobuyuki Nakahara is a favourite to land the job of governor of the Bank of Japan in March. In the interview he said the introduction of a 1-3 per cent inflation target would serve as…
Central banks sign cooperation agreement
Greece's central bank governor, Nikos Garganas, and his Romanian counterpart, Constantin Isarescu, were due to sign in Bucharest Friday a memorandum of cooperation in the two countries' exercise of supervision competences over commercial banks operating…
Kazakh national bank to up gold purchases in 2003
The Kazakhstan National Bank plans to increase gold purchases on the domestic market in 2003. The Bank's net gold and foreign currency reserves totalled 2.981bn dollars in December 2002.
Hamalainen on the role of monetary policy
SPEECH - In the speech 'The role of monetary policy and the central banks in global financial stability' Sirkka Hamalainen of the ECB said it is self-evident that the central bank needs a healthy banking and financial market sector in order to conduct…