The banking world is reacting to the recent news that Alan Bollard, Governor of New Zealand’s Central Bank, will step down after ten years at its helm. Famous for his tight control of interest rates, he guided the central bank through a period of both h...

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka is a relatively young establishment. It came into existence in 1950, two years after the country gained independence. The first bank governor appointed was John Exter, serving under the then Minister of Finance, J.R. Jayaward...

In the US there are two institutions that have authority over interest rates: the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve. The board makes its decisions on interest rates after submissions by one or more of t...

The gravity of the eurozone crisis has finally sunk in. The stakes could not be higher. Governments and international financial institutions have scrambled to put together a solution within exceedingly tight political and economic constraints. Many questi...

Pakistan's central bank governor has stepped down citing "personal reasons," two days before the announcement of the 2010/11 federal budget, the Finance Ministry said. "We don't know what the reasons are for the resignation, but the timing of it can be wo...

The ECB is expected to cut rates and unveil a new package of bank aid on Thursday, with markets also watching for any hint it will intensify its bond buying support for the bloc's struggling periphery, setting the stage for a critical eurozone summit. ...

Like many nations around the world, the function of the banking system in Brazil includes a central bank. This bank, the Banco Central do Brasil, serves as the primary force behind monetary policy within the country. Formed in 1964 and functioning under t...

The role of central banks in protecting the integrity of the economy is crucial. In fact, this role is often considered to be key to whether or not a nation experiences extreme financial shifts, such as severe recessions or periods of inflation and how lo...

In a nutshell, the vision of the Russian government for future development of the national banking sector may be summarised as follows: Russian banks must become bigger and stronger. Having fought the liquidity crisis throughout 2009 and dealt with the fi...

The financial crisis of 2008 pushed the Brazilian economy into recession starting in the fourth quarter of 2008, mainly by limiting the ability of small and medium banks and companies to obtain funding in the market and by causing problems with credit por...