24 April 2001

News:

 

BoJ switches to target monetary base

As expected, the Bank of Japan has reinstated its zero interest rate policy, but it has done this by switching its operational target to expand the money supply. 20-March-2001

Study effects of gold lending says Italy 's Santini

Central banks must study the effects of gold lending in order to see if they can raise returns on their portfolios without disrupting the market said the Banca D'Italia's Santini yesterday. 20-March-2001

Turkish cbank to adopt monetary policy committee

PEECH - In his first speech as governor of the Central Bank of Turkey on Mar 19, 2001, Sureyya Serdengecti discusses the continuing liquidity problems faced the the country's state bank and how this is hampering the implementation of monetary policy. He says the bank is planning to have a monetary policy committee to raise transparency and accountability, in preparation for implementing an inflation targeting regime. 21-March-2001

BoE faces £1bn BCCI lawsuit

Following a ruling on Thursday 22 March, Deloitte and Touche, liquidators of the Bank for Credit and Commerce Interantional, have been given leave to sue the Bank of England for its alleged failures as supervisor of BCCI 23-March-2001

ECB says central banks should keep oversight role

CENTRAL BANK RESEARCH - The European Central Bank on Mar 22, 2001 said that euro zone central banks should maintain a key role in banking supervision, arguing that their close contacts with commercial banks were crucial for crisis prevention. 22-March-2001

Kerstin Hessius to be Stockholm Bourse head

SWEDEN - OM Gruppen AB on Mar 26, 2001 named former Riksbank Deputy Governor Kerstin Hessius as the new president of the Stockholm stock exchange, officially known as Stockholmsboersen. 26-March-2001

Libya names new bank governor, economy minister

LIBYA - Libya has split the finance and economy ministry and appointed a new central bank governor in a minor government reshuffle, officials said on Mar 26, 2001. 26-March-2001

New Zealand cbank against introducing MPC

NEW ZEALAND - The Reserve Bank of New Zealand said in report Mar 26, 2001 that it opposes a recent proposal to change the country's monetary policy decision-making model in favor of a committee of experts instead of the existing framework which vests that authority in the central bank's governor. 26-March-2001

House committee urges RBA to increase transparency

AUSTRALIA - A two-year study of international financial markets by Australia's House of Representatives economics committee has concluded that the Reserve Bank of Australia has to explain more about its monetary policy decisions and economic thinking. 27-March-2001

Laos cbank governor appointed finance minister

LAOS - In a government reshuffle which saw Laotian deputy prime minister and finance minister Bounnyang Vorachit elected prime minister on Mar 27, 2001, central bank governor Soukan Mahalath was elected to succeed Bounnyang as the new finance minister. 27-March-2001

Former Philippine c. bank chief made consultant

PHILIPPINES - Former Philippine central bank governor Gabriel Singson has been appointed presidential consultant on banking and foreign loans, a presidential palace statement said on Mar 28, 2001. 28-March-2001

BoF appoints Pikkarainen to head operations dept

FINLAND - Mr Pentti Pikkarainen has been appointed head of the Bank of Finland's market operations department, effective 1 May 2001. He replaces Markus Fogelholm who has been appointed head of the Finnish Bankers Association. 29-March-2001

Iceland and Norway introduce 2.5% inflation targets

ICELAND/NORWAY - Iceland announced on Mar 27 it was getting rid of its pegged exchange rate, replacing it with a 2.5% inflation target, similar in institutional design to the Bank of England's. Two days later Norway's government also introduced a 2.5% inflation target, in line with 'international practice' to raise the transparency of monetary policy and facilitate communications. 29-March-2001

HKMA to buy office space rather than rent

HONG KONG - Hong Kong's quasi central bank on Mar 29, 2001 defended a plan to buy 14 floors in a building in the city's center for its new offices, saying the move will be cheaper than to continue renting. The HKMA has been strongly criticised by MPs who says the cost of the new building is 30% greater than this year's spending on the health service. Joseph Yam said this case has implications for the HKMA independence. 29-March-2001

Gaspari - Slovenia's new central bank governor

SLOVENIA - On Apr 1, Mitja Gaspari begins a six year term as governor of the Bank of Slovenia, replacing France Arhar, who headed the central bank for 10 years. 30-March-2001

Nepal defence minister quits over cbank chief

NEPAL - Nepali Defence Minister Mahesh Acharya quit the government late on Mar 29, 2001 after the Himalayan kingdom's highest court reversed an earlier decision of his to dismiss the central bank governor. 30-March-2001

Canadian regulator fakes website to warn investors

CANADA - The Ontario Securities Commission, regulator of Canada's largest stock market, has established a fake website (http://www.NoRiskWealth.ca) as a cautionary demonstration to gullible online investors 2-April-2001

CFA franc withstood Ivorian turmoil - central bank

IVORY COAST - The CFA franc used by eight West African states stood up well to the turmoil in Ivory Coast after a December 1999 army coup and remains a solid currency, the head of the countries' common central bank said on Mar 31, 2001. 2-April-2001

China FX reserves rising to $200bn-BusinessWeek

CHINA - China's foreign reserves will rise steadily, enabling it to hold its yuan peg to the dollar in the face of the weakening yen, US-based BusinessWeek magazine on Apr 3, 2001 quoted central bank Governor Dai Xianglong as saying. 4-April-2001

Kenya central bank governor Cheserem replaced

KENYA - Kenya's widely respected central bank governor Micah Cheserem has stepped down and been replaced by Nahashon Ngige Nyagah, the government announced on Kenyan TV on Apr 4, 2001. 5-April-2001

Central bankers want decision on next ECB chief-FT

EUROPE - The Financial Times newspaper reported on Apr 9 that pressure is growing for an early decision to be made on who succeeds Wim Duisenberg as president of the European Central Bank. EBRD chief Jean Lemiere re-awakened the controversy in March when he reminded Mr Duisenberg of his promise to step down in mid-2002. 9-April-2001

CNB appoints new executive director for markets

CZECH REPUBLIC - The Czech National Bank has announced that TomᚠKvapil will be the new executive director for financial markets as of Apr 1, 2001, filling the post which was left vacant when Radek Urban left at the end of February. 9-April-2001

SNB chief economist George Rich retires Nov 01

SWITZERLAND - Georg Rich, chief economist of the Swiss National Bank, has announced that he will take early retirement as of the end of November 2001. 9-April-2001

Ex-Yugo states agree on division of gold reserves

YUGOSLAVIA - The five states that emerged from ex-Yugoslavia have agreed on the division of gold assets worth some $477 million, Yugoslavia's central bank governor said on Apr 11. 11-April-2001

Malaysia ex-cbank chief named Mahathir's adviser

MALAYSIA - Former Malaysian central bank governor Ali Abul Hassan Sulaiman has been named as a special economic adviser to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, the official Bernama news agency said on Apr 16. 17-April-2001

PBOC appoints Guo Shuqing as head of forex

CHINA - The People's Bank of China, China's central bank, has appointed Guo Shuqing as one of its deputy governors and the head of the foreign exchange regulatory agency. 17-April-2001

Qatar comes to defence of Lebanese pound with $60m

LEBANON - Qatar joined a Gulf Arab consortium in defending the Lebanese pound by pledging to deposit $60 million with Banque du Liban, local newspapers said on Apr 18. Earlier in the month Oman deposited $50m with Lebanon's central bank. 18-April-2001

Brazil hikes rates to permit future cuts

The Brazilian central bank pushed up interest rates to 15.75% on Mar 22 portraying this as a defensive more, designed to allow future rate cuts. On Apr 18 the central bank said it was hiking its key Selic lending rate further to 16.25%, due to expected inflation pressures from a weakening currency. 19-April-2001

O'Neill mystified by Europe's complacency-FT

EUROPE - Paul O'Neill, U.S. Treasury secretary, said on Apr 19 that he was "mystified" by European leaders' claims that Europe would not be affected much by a U.S. downturn, the Apr 20 overseas edition of the Financial Times reported. A few days later Pedro Solbes hit back saying that Europe's economic policymakers would know much better what was right for the Eurozone than the US Treasury. 20-April-2001

Honduras not ready to adopt dollar-central banker

HONDURAS - A large trade deficit and limited foreign currency reserves mean Honduras is not ready to follow in the footsteps of neighboring El Salvador and dollarize its economy, Central Bank President Victoria Asfura said on Apr 19. 20-April-2001

Argentina Cavallo to recommend removing Pou-papers

ARGENTINA -Economy Minister Domingo Cavallo will recommend the firing of Central Bank President Pedro Pou, local newspapers reported on Apr 22. 23-April-2001

Bank of Israel strike postpones interest rate cut

ISRAEL - In an unprecedented move, the Bank of Israel said on Apr 22 that it would delay its May interest rate decision because an internal labour dispute has disrupted the flow of key statistical information and analysis. 23-April-2001
 
How to Subscribe/Unsubscribe

To Subscribe or Unsubscribe go to http://www.centralbanking.co.uk/list.htm
Or send an e-mail to listserver@centralbanking.co.uk with the words "SUBSCRIBE NEWSMAKERS" in the body of the text.

To Unsubscribe put "UNSUBSCRIBE NEWSMAKERS" in the body of the text. Alternatively, send an email to ncourtis@centralbanking.co.uk with your request.
Disclaimer of Warranty

Central Banking Publications assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in these materials.

THESE MATERIALS ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.

Central Banking Publications further does not warrant the accuracy or completeness of the information, text, graphics,links or other items contained within these materials. Central Banking Publications shall not be liable for any special, indirect, incidental, or consequential damages, including without limitation, lost revenues or lost profits, which may result from the use of these materials. The information on this server is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Central Banking Publications in the future.