Page 6 - Central Bank

UK central bank hikes interest rates like Fed amid financial turmoil

The Bank of England focused on fighting inflation, announcing an 11th consecutive interest rate increase Thursday despite concerns about the economic fallout from troubles in the global financial system. Britain's central bank boosted its key rate by a quarter-percentage point to 4.25 per cent, a day after the US Federal Reserve approved a similar move to tame inflation that is crimping household budgets and slowing economic growth. The decision by the bank's Monetary Policy Committee came after the UK statistics agency surprised policymakers Wednesday by reporting that inflation accelerated to 10.4 per cent in February, driven by the cost of food, clothing and dining out. Before the figures were released, many analysts had expected the Bank of England to keep rates on hold following the collapse of two US banks and the ensuing troubles at Switzerland's Credit Suisse, which forced a hastily arranged takeover by rival UBS. The bank will continue to monitor closely indications of ...

UBS's takeover of Credit Suisse halted crisis, says Swiss central bank

The Swiss central bank hiked its key interest rate on Thursday and insisted that a government-orchestrated takeover of troubled Credit Suisse by rival bank UBS ended the financial turmoil. In a statement, the Swiss National Bank said it is providing large amounts of support for the deal to merge Switzerland's biggest banks and that the late Sunday announcement by the federal government, financial regulators and the central bank put a halt to the crisis. An insolvency of Credit Suisse would have had severe consequences for national and international financial stability and for the Swiss economy, said Thomas Jordan, chairman of the Swiss central bank's governing board. Taking this risk would have been irresponsible. The hastily arranged, USD 3.25 billion deal aimed to stem the upheaval in the global financial system after the collapse of two US banks and jitters about long-running troubles at Credit Suisse led shares of Switzerland's second-largest bank to tank and customers to pull o

Central banks in spotlight as US authorities focus on financial stability

SVB's collapse kicked off a tumultuous 10 days for banks which led to the 3 billion Swiss franc ($3.2 billion) Swiss regulator-engineered takeover of Credit Suisse by rival UBS

Lack of independence at Central Bank led to Sri Lanka's bankruptcy

The governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka Nandalal Weerasinghe has cited the lack of independence of the apex bank in determining the monetary policy as a reason for the country's unprecedented economic crisis. The Sri Lankan government in May last year declared a debt default on over USD 51 billion in foreign loans -- a first in the country's history. Weerasinghe made the statement on Thursday while talking about a proposed bill aimed to provide autonomy to the Central Bank without any undue influence from the fiscal authorities or the government. "In 2020, 2021 and 2022, the policy interest and exchange rates were fixed without the Central Bank," Weerasinghe said. The exchange rate was fixed at Rs 203 leading to the total loss of our reserves and bankruptcy, he said, recalling the situation prevailing at the time of his takeover last year from his predecessor Ajith Cabraal. He said it was important to let the Central Bank act independently to determine the policy interest ra

Swiss central bank throws lifeline to Credit Suisse after shares pummelled

Swiss regulator FINMA and the nation's central bank sought to ease investor fears around Credit Suisse, saying it "meets the capital and liquidity requirements imposed on systemically important banks"

Balance sheet comfort may allow RBI to let rupee appreciate: Citi

Citi estimates the RBI's gross forex sales in the first nine months of fiscal 2023 at $189 billion against $96 billion in the whole of fiscal 2022

40% of Japanese firms want central bank to scale down monetary easing

Nearly 40 per cent of Japanese companies want the Bank of Japan (BOJ) to scale down its ultra-loose monetary policy over the next year, local media reported citing a recent survey

Sri Lanka's central bank ready to adopt IMF programme within March

There have been some differences between the CBSL and IMF staff on the inflation outlook, CBSL Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said

Lanka's central bank raises interest rates in anticipation of IMF bailout

Central bank Governor P Nandalal Weerasinghe said with the rate increase all "prior actions" have been fulfilled and he was hopeful of the IMF bailout being approved within this month

China's central bank signals stable policy as economy rebounds

The PBOC will adjust monetary policy at the appropriate time, Deputy Governor Liu Guoqiang said at the briefing

US jobless insurance claims near historic low despite cooling economy

Applications for US unemployment insurance last week fell slightly, hovering around historically low levels as the labor market holds strong despite a weakening economy

Last year, central banks bought most gold since 1967: WGC

Buying dipped during the coronavirus pandemic but accelerated in the second half of 2022, with central banks purchasing 862 tonnes between Jul and Dec

US dollar skulks at eight-month low, central bank's meeting in focus

Downbeat earnings and guidance from U.S. companies and a string of tech sector layoffs have deepened fears of an economic downturn in the United States

Dollar near eight-month low ahead of central bank meetings next week

The Fed's policy-setting committee will begin a two-day meeting next week, and markets have priced in a 25-basis-point interest rate hike

India's FY24 gross borrowing could be less than expected: Economists

There are chances of the central bank paying the government a higher dividend, which could allow for a surprise at the budget presentation on Feb 1

RBI urges bond market players to use tool to prevent gilt auction errors

Central bank facility permits market participants to set maximum and minimum value for bids

Sri Lankan economy to recover in second half of 2023: Central bank

The central bank said that structural economic impediments that existed across various spheres of the economy over decades were compounded by economic shocks, along with ill-timed policy choices

Israel's central bank raises interest rate to 3.75%, highest since 2008

This is the seventh consecutive rise in the base interest rate in Israel since April 2022 when the figure then stood at 0.1 per cent, reports Xinhua news agency

Central banks may reverse rate hikes in 2023 to escape slowdown: SBI

Financial markets in 2022 have remained volatile and edgy with the central banks globally in unison in a rate hike cycle

Interest rates to be reduced in 2023: Sri Lanka's central bank chief

He said that Sri Lanka's inflation rate eased to 57.2 per cent in December from 61 per cent in November, noting that this reflected that the policies they have taken from April 2022 were successful