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☆ IMF, World Bank to step up cooperation on climate, debt, digital transition
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Amit Dave/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies International Monetary Fund FollowWASHINGTON, Sept 7 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund and World Bank on Thursday issued a rare joint statement pledging to step up their cooperation to address climate change, debt vulnerabilities and countries' digital transitions. The IMF and World Bank were established in 1944 at a meeting in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. DEBT VULNERABILITIESThe two institutions also said they will incorporate climate considerations into their work on debt sustainability for low-income countries. The IMF and World Bank have worked closely on debt sustainability issues, both pushing for improved restructuring frameworks. On the digital transition, the two institutions said they would collaborate to help countries to connect their citizens to online services and reduce barriers to digital inclusion.

Persons: Ajay Banga, Amit Dave, Kristalina Georgieva, Joe Biden, Banga, David Lawder, Paul Simao Organizations: Ministers, Central Bank governors, REUTERS, International Monetary, Monetary Fund, World Bank, Woods, IMF, Bank, Advisory Group, Sustainability Trust, Thomson Locations: Gandhinagar, India, Bretton Woods , New Hampshire, Banga, U.S

☆ Canada finance minister defends central bank independence after rate comment
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration Acquire Licensing RightsSept 6 (Reuters) - Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland defended the central bank's independence on Wednesday after her comments welcoming the Bank of Canada's decision not to increase its key interest rate raised concerns to the contrary. In a widely expected decision, the Bank of Canada held interest rates steady at a 22-year high of 5%. It is rare for Canadian government ministers to publicly back or criticize central bank policies. Like many developed economies, the Bank of Canada makes its monetary policy decisions independent of the federal government. In June, when the central bank raised rates for the first time after a four-month pause, Freeland stressed that she respected the independence of the central bank, a sentiment she repeated in a press conference later in the day.

Persons: Thomas White, Chrystia Freeland, Freeland, Derek Holt, Pierre Poilievre, Justin Trudeau's, Steve Scherer, David Ljunggren, Denny Thomas, Leslie Adler Organizations: Canadian Finance, Bank of, Bank of Canada, Conservative, Liberal, Ontario, Thomson Locations: Canada, Bank of Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Ottawa

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, long a proponent of cutting interest rates, now supports his advisers’ economic plan that includes raising rates, a member of his economic team said Thursday. In a theory that runs contrary to traditional economic thinking, Erdogan has long pressured Turkey's central bank governors to lower rates. After winning reelection in May, however, Erdogan appointed a new economic team, including two accomplished bankers, signaling a turn to more conventional policies. Political Cartoons View All 1146 ImagesIn recent years, Erdogan fired three central bank governors for failing to fall in line with his rate-cutting policies. "We will continue with the tightening process with all our means until we reach a significant improvement in inflation," Erkan said.

Persons: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, ”, Mehmet Simsek, Merrill Lynch, Hafize Gaye Erkan, Erkan, “ Organizations: Bank Locations: ANKARA, Turkey, Turkish, San Francisco

But speaking on Wednesday, the last day before the ECB's self-imposed quiet period, the Dutch, French, German and Slovak central bank chiefs all said the Governing Council's decision was still open. France's Francois Villeroy de Galhau hinted that a fresh rate hike could still come at a later date and argued that the slowdown is not a recession and that the ECB needed to persevere in its fight with inflation. Slovakia's Peter Kazimir, an outspoken policy hawk, was more explicit, arguing that another hike was still needed to tame inflation. He said the ECB could delay a rate rise to one of its autumn meetings or pull the trigger next week. "It would be wrong to bet on a rapid decrease in interest rates after the peak," Nagel told German business daily Handelsblatt.

Persons: Nagel, France's Francois Villeroy de Galhau, Peter Kazimir, Kazimir, Klaas Knot, Bundesbank, Joachim Nagel, " Nagel, Robert Holzmann, Mario Centeno, Akanksha Khushi, Catherine Evans Organizations: Central Bank, ECB, Bloomberg, Reuters Global Markets, Thomson Locations: FRANKFURT, PARIS, Slovak

☆ India central-bank chief urges fintech firms to form a self-regulatory body
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das speaks during a press conference after a G20 Finance Ministers' and Central Bank governors' meeting at Gandhinagar, India, July 18, 2023. "I would like to use this opportunity to urge and encourage the fintechs to establish a self-regulatory organisation or SRO themselves. From the Reserve Bank, we are willing to engage with you," Das said while delivering the keynote address at the Global FinTech Fest 2023 (GFF). The other advantage is that all the aspects of regulation will not be burdened on the Reserve Bank." Reporting by Siddhi Nayak and Swati Bhat; Editing by Dhanya Ann ThoppilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Shaktikanta Das, Amit Dave, Das, T, Rabi Sankar, Siddhi Nayak, Swati Bhat, Dhanya Ann Thoppil Organizations: Bank of India, Ministers, Central Bank governors, REUTERS, Rights, Financial, Reserve Bank of India, Reserve Bank, Global, Siddhi, Thomson Locations: Gandhinagar, India, Rights MUMBAI

☆ Turkey hikes inflation view on path to policy orthodoxy
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Huseyin Hayatsever | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Presenting the new forecasts, Erdogan said that tight monetary policy would lower inflation to single digits, adding Turkey will not compromise on economic expansion as policies are adjusted. It trimmed GDP growth forecasts to 4.4% this year and 4% next year, which is still higher than most economists expect, from 5% and 5.5% previously. The economy is expected to slow through year-end - and ahead of nationwide municipal elections set for March next year - as stimulus tied to the May elections fades and as the policy rate hikes, to 25% from 8.5%, start to weigh. A Reuters poll last month showed expectations of 2.9% full-year growth, lower than trend in the emerging market economy that seeks to reverse a years-long exodus of foreign investors. Inflation will "be very high for an extended period of time, which will trigger second-round effects such as wage settlements."

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Vladimir Putin, Mikhail Klimentyev, Erdogan, Tatha Ghose, Huseyin Hayatsever, Jonathan Spicer, Peter Graff, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: Sputnik, REUTERS Acquire, Reuters, AK, Ece Toksabay, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Sochi, Russia, Kremlin, ANKARA, Turkey, Istanbul, Ankara

☆ Turkey's economic team in Russia as Erdogan meets Putin -source
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Turkey's Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek speaks during the 66th General Assembly of Turkish Banks Association in Istanbul, Turkey August 17, 2023. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsANKARA, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Turkey's top economic policymakers are visiting Russia for meetings on Monday, a source said, travelling along with President Tayyip Erdogan who will meet Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin to discuss Black Sea grain exports. When the leaders meet later on Monday, Erdogan aims to convince Putin to return to a Ukraine grain-export deal that helped ease a global food crisis. It has opposed Russia's invasion of Ukraine while also opposing Western sanctions on Moscow and has advanced economic cooperation with Russia since the invasion early last year. Since June, Simsek and Erkan have moved to roll back regulations, partly free up the currency and launched an aggressive rate-hiking cycle.

Persons: Mehmet Simsek, Murad Sezer, Tayyip Erdogan, Vladimir Putin, Hafize Gaye Erkan, Erdogan, Putin, Simsek, Orhan Coskun, Jonathan Spicer, Daren Butler Organizations: Turkey's, General Assembly, Turkish Banks Association, REUTERS, Rights, Kremlin, Turkish, NATO, Thomson Locations: Istanbul, Turkey, Rights ANKARA, Russia, Russian, Sochi, Simsek, Ukraine, Moscow, Kyiv, UAE, Gulf

☆ Russian central bank head wants currency controls to remain limited
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Sept 1 (Reuters) - Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina said on Friday that controls on foreign currency flows should not pose difficulties for economic actors, and should remain limited to their role as a mirroring operation. Now, currency control measures, in my opinion, should remain primarily those that are of a mirror nature, reciprocal in nature," Nabiullina told a banking conference. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, addressing the same banking forum, said his ministry and the central bank were seeking consensus on currency control. Siluanov said that previously, the Central Bank had been stricter on the issue, and the Ministry of Finance more liberal, but that it was now the other way around. It has, however, recovered since the central bank pushed up rates on Aug. 15 by 3.5 percentage points to 12%.

Persons: Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, Nabiullina, Anton Siluanov, Siluanov, Kevin Liffey, Conor Humphries Organizations: Russian Central Bank Governor, Central Bank, Ministry of Finance, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine

☆ Build up not out: the high density housing push for Australian cities
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Stella Qiu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Mahendran has joined the Sydney YIMBY (Yes In My Backyard) group, a fledgling grassroots movement seeking higher density housing in opposition to those branded NIMBYs (Not In My Backyard) that fight new and large developments, particularly in gentrified inner-city areas. For a continent as large and sparsely populated as Australia, it is almost counter-intuitive there could be a housing shortage. While the YIMBY movement is in its infancy in Australia, it marks a shift in community attitudes towards development as affordability worsens and a push for shorter commutes and better facilities become features of post-pandemic urban living. "The future is up by way of density," said Liz Allen, a researcher at Australian National University in Canberra. Greater Canberra, the YIMBY group in Canberra, has received support from both Labor and Greens for its push to lift density across the Australian Central Territory.

Persons: Stella Qiu, Mahendran, Sydney YIMBY, Liz Allen, Justin Simon, they've, Simon, Philip Lowe, Lowe, Anthony Albanese, Albanese, Simon Welsh, Lincoln Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Sydney, New South, New South Wales Productivity, Australian National University, Reuters, Labor, Greens, Australian Central Territory ., Senate, Redbridge, Thomson Locations: Parramatta, Sydney, today's Australia, Australia, New South Wales, Canberra, Greater Canberra, May, Victoria

☆ Euro zone growth risks materialising, warranting ECB caution: Centeno
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The ECB is debating whether to raise rates again in September to combat stubborn underlying price growth or pause given the weakening outlook that is now raising recession fears. "We need to be very cautious about our decisions, because a lot has been done," Centeno told the Reuters Global Markets Forum. "The labour market in Europe is performing in a novel way... I see a degree of flexibility in the European labour market that we were not used to see in the past," Centeno said. "This will ease wage pressures in our labour market, contrary to what we have [been used to] in the past."

Persons: Mario Centeno, Pedro Nunes, Centeno, Mehnaz Yasmin, Balazs Koranyi, Alison Williams, Mike Harrison Organizations: Bank of Portugal, European Central Bank, Bank of, REUTERS, Rights, ECB, Reuters Global Markets, Thomson Locations: Bank of Portugal, Carregado, Alenquer, Portugal, Europe

☆ China rally runs on hope; bonds bet on slowdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

European futures rose 0.2% and FTSE futures rose 0.8% to point to a positive return from a day's holiday in London. SLOWINGElsewhere in Asia, investors' focus was on U.S. data that may determine whether or not interest rates need to rise further. U.S. Treasuries extended overnight gains, driving two-year yields down five basis points (bps) to 5% and 10-year yields down two bps to 4.1922%. The Australian dollar inched 0.3% higher to $0.6440, with incoming central bank governor Michelle Bullock due to speak later in the day. The yen remained pinned near Monday's 10-month low, for a loss of some 10% on the dollar this year.

Persons: Ryan Felsman, Michelle Bullock, Jason Xue, Sam Holmes, Kim Coghill Organizations: Foreigners, Treasury, Workers, of America, Financial, HK, Traders, Benchmark, Commonwealth Bank, Thomson Locations: China, Australia, SINGAPORE, Asia, Pacific, Japan, Hong Kong, London, U.S, Sydney . U.S, Shanghai

Turkey's Central Bank headquarters is seen in Ankara, Turkey in this January 24, 2014 file photo. Yet five foreign investors told Reuters that this week's rate hike signalled a new independence among policymakers who are serious about addressing unrelenting pressure on the currency and reining in inflation expectations. "It feels like they are correcting the mistakes they made with their first rate hike decisions," said Viktor Szabo, portfolio manager at abrdn in London. Erdogan, who has fired four central bank chiefs in four years, has said little about the rate hikes. Reuters GraphicsTurkish stock, Eurobond and CDS markets are more attractive targets this year and next, especially after the rate hike, investors and officials say.

Persons: Umit, Erdogan's unorthodoxy, Mehmet Simsek, Goldman Sachs, Tayyip Erdogan's, Viktor Szabo, Ola El, Van Eck, ERDOGAN, Erdogan, Simsek, Hafize Gaye Erkan, Cevdet Yilmaz, Blaise Antin, TCW, Kaan, Neuberger Berman, Jonathan Spicer, Marc Jones, Jorgelina, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Turkey's Central Bank, Finance, Goldman, Reuters, abrdn, Emerging Markets, Wall Street, JPMorgan, Reuters Graphics, CDS, Yeni, United Nations, International Monetary Fund, Thomson Locations: Ankara, Turkey, ANKARA, LONDON, New York, London, Van, Los Angeles, Reuters Graphics Turkish, Yeni Safak, Morocco, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Rosario

☆ Australia concerned about China economy, monitoring 'very closely'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Amit Dave Acquire Licensing RightsSYDNEY, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers said on Sunday the government was closely watching China amid "concerning" signs of economic weakness that could weigh on Australia's economy. "I share the pretty substantial concerns that people have voiced about the Chinese economy," Chalmers told Sky News television. "Our concerns for China in particular is something that we're monitoring very closely." Australia's growth "will be substantially weaker" due to China's slowdown and Australian interest rates rises, he said. Australia's economy grew 0.2% in the first quarter, its slowest in 1-1/2 years as high prices and rising interest rates sapped consumer spending.

Persons: Jim Chalmers, Amit Dave, Chalmers, they've, Sam McKeith, William Mallard Organizations: Central Bank governors, REUTERS, Rights, Sky News, Reserve Bank of, Thomson Locations: Gandhinagar, India, China, Australia, Canberra, Reserve Bank of Australia, Sydney

☆ ECB rate pause now may be too early: policymaker
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-26 | by ( Balazs Koranyi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

JACKSON HOLE, Wyoming, Aug 26 (Reuters) - It may be too early for the European Central Bank to pause interest rate hikes now as an early stop in the fight against inflation could force the bank to exert even more pain on the economy later, Latvian policymaker Martins Kazaks said on Saturday. The ECB has raised rates at each of its past nine meetings to arrest runaway inflation but policymakers are now contemplating a pause as recession risks loom, inflation slows and wage growth remains moderate. ECB projections currently see inflation returning to its 2% target only in late 2025 and Kazaks argued this was too late. Once rates peak, a plateau should be held for some time and the ECB should only start cutting rates when projections start showing inflation was at risk of coming back below 2%. Markets see a rate cut only in the second half of 2024 and Kazaks said he did not consider this inconsistent with the macroeconomic outlook.

Persons: JACKSON, Martins Kazaks, Kazaks, Balazs Koranyi, Marguerita Choy Organizations: European Central Bank, ECB, Reuters, Industry, Thomson Locations: , Wyoming, Latvian, Jackson Hole , Wyoming

☆ Vietnam joins Southeast Asian effort on cross-border payments
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

People go past the State Bank building, near the offices of Vietcombank and the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam, in central Hanoi, Vietnam November 23, 2017. REUTERS/Kham Acquire Licensing RightsJAKARTA, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Vietnam's central bank signed an agreement on Friday to be part of an initiative by five other Southeast Asian countries to establish a cross-border payments mechanisms between them. Vietnam will join Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Singapore in working to connect each of their payment systems, including using the QR (quick response) code system for retail transactions. The agreement was made at a meeting of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) finance ministers and central bank governors in Jakarta. Furthermore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand have agreed to later facilitate cross-border transactions for financial assets like equities and government bonds in local currencies.

Persons: Perry Warjiyo, Stefanno Sulaiman, Martin Petty Organizations: Bank, Bank for Investment, Development, REUTERS, Rights, QR, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, Bank Indonesia, Thomson Locations: Vietcombank, Vietnam, Hanoi, Rights JAKARTA, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Singapore, Jakarta

☆ ECB must gauge digital euro impact on banks before launch -Spanish official
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Jesús Aguado | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A view shows the logo of the European Central Bank (ECB) outside its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany March 16, 2023. REUTERS/Heiko Becker/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMADRID, Aug 25 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank needs to measure the impact of the digital euro on the euro zone's banking system before any final decision on its potential launch, Spain's deputy central bank governor Margarita Delgado said on Friday. The ECB is due to decide in October whether to push ahead with a digital euro, which aims to tackle a shortage of European payment service providers. A digital euro would provide a payment solution based on European infrastructure and accepted throughout the entire euro area, she said. Electronic payments in the EU grew from 184.2 trillion euros ($201.7 trillion) in 2017 to 240 trillion euros in 2021, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Persons: Heiko Becker, Margarita Delgado, Delgado, Jesús, Andrei Khalip, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: European Central Bank, REUTERS, Rights, ECB, European Union, Bank of Spain, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany

Delegates walk past the logos of the BRICS summit during the 2023 BRICS Summit at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa on August 23, 2023. WHY DOES LULA WANT A BRICS CURRENCY? A BRICS currency "increases our payment options and reduces our vulnerabilities," he told the summit's opening plenary session. In July, India's foreign minister said, "there is no idea of a BRICS currency". WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES OF SETTING UP A BRICS CURRENCY?

Persons: GIANLUIGI, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, LULA, doesn't, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Lesetja Kganyago, you've, Kganyago, Herbert Poenisch, Putin, Rachel Savage, Ethan Wang, Marcela Ayres, Gabriel Stargardter, Naomi Rovnick, Libby George, Marc Jones, John Stonestreet Organizations: REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Mercosur, South, Zhejiang University, Federal Reserve, FX, International Monetary Fund, Bank of International, Thomson Locations: Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa, Rights JOHANNESBURG, Brazil, Russia, India, China, Russian, videolink, African, Ukraine, Beijing, Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro, London

☆ BRICS expansion hopefuls seek to rebalance world order
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Joe Bavier | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/6] People walk past the Sandton Convention Centre, which will host the upcoming BRICS Summit, in Johannesburg, South Africa August 19, 2023. The wealthy West's domination of international bodies, such as the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank. DEVELOPING WORLD DISCONTENTWhile BRICS has not divulged a full list of expansion candidates, a number of governments have publicly stated their interest. Others want changes at the World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund and World Bank. Its BRICS trade has indeed increased steadily since it joined, according to an analysis by the country's Industrial Development Corporation.

Persons: James Oatway, Rob Davies, South, bode, Vladimir Putin, Steven Gruzd, BRICS, Ramón Lobo, Gruzd, Lucinda Elliott, Deisy, Yousef Saba, Gustavo Palencia, Lamine Chikhi, Ahmed Eljechtimi, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: Sandton, REUTERS, United Nations, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, BRICS, Observers, South African Institute of International Affairs, U.S ., Reuters, United, Emirates, World Trade Organization, Argentine, New Development Bank, Russia, Industrial Development Corporation, South, Thomson Locations: Johannesburg, South Africa, JOHANNESBURG, Iran, Argentina, Brazil, Russia, India, China, Ukraine, Venezuela, Gulf, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Nigeria, United Nations, United States, Montevideo, Caracas, Dubai, Tegucigalpa, Lamine, Algiers, Rabat

☆ The Kremlin's top brass are trying to pass the buck over the ruble's collapse. This rare public infighting shows just how precarious Russia's wartime economy is.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Kremlin's top brass are trying to pass the buck over the ruble's collapse. Russia's central bank governor, Elvira Nabiullina, said the weak ruble is due to changing trade flows. "A weak ruble complicates the economy's structural transformation and negatively influences real household earnings. "Blaming the central bank is like a drunkard's search — looking for the guilty where the light is," she said, the Financial Times reported earlier this week. The Kremlin, Russia's central bank, and Capital Economics did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider.

Persons: Putin's, Elvira Nabiullina, Maxim Oreshkin, Vladimir Putin's, Oreshkin, Nabiullina —, —, Liam Peach, Putin, Max Seddon, you've Organizations: Service, TASS, Financial Times, Capital Economics Locations: Wall, Silicon, Russian, Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Surgut

☆ ECB core obsession raises risk of policy mistake
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Francesco Guerrera | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Headline inflation in the euro zone has halved in the past nine months and was 5.3% in July. Granted, both headline and core inflation are currently above the ECB’s 2% target. In fact, core tends to follow headline inflation because its narrower composition makes it stickier. That’s because, as the chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve Jerome Powell said recently, headline inflation is “really what the public experiences”. ECB President Christine Lagarde has pledged to be “data-dependent”.

Persons: Wolfgang Rattay, Martin Heidegger, that’s, Joachim Nagel, Germany’s Bundesbank, Klaas Knot, Lucrezia Reichlin, Michele Lenza, Jerome Powell, Christine Lagarde, Klaas, Neil Unmack, Oliver Taslic, Streisand Neto Organizations: European Central Bank, REUTERS, Reuters, ECB, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Financial Times, U.S . Federal, Eurostat, Central, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, German, Ukraine

☆ Russia's inflation spike sets Kremlin and central bank on collision course
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (L) and Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina Alexei Nikolsky\TASS via Getty ImagesRussia's rising inflation and plunging currency have spotlighted an emerging discord between the Kremlin and the country's central bank. Analysts suggested the government's direct strong-arming of the central bank into monetary policy action was a sign of the problems faced by the country's economy. In other words, the Russian currency has entered a vicious circle that it will struggle to escape from." This is because the negative factors behind the weakening currency are largely outside the control of the Central Bank of Russia." She added that blaming the central bank has therefore become an "easy tactic" for the Kremlin in the absence of any tangible options through which to improve the situation.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina Alexei Nikolsky, Vladimir Putin's, Maxim Oreshkin, Anatoly Aksakov, Agathe Demarais, Demarais, Stephanie Kennedy, Julius Baer, Kennedy Organizations: Russian Central Bank Governor, Getty, Kremlin, Central Bank of Russia, Bank, Bank of Russia, Financial, Bank of, Economist Intelligence Unit, CNBC, CBR, U.S . Locations: Russia, Bank of Russia, Ukraine

☆ Nigeria's suspended cenbank governor to face fraud charges on Thursday
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Camillus Eboh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nigeria's Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele briefs the media during the MPC meeting in Abuja, Nigeria January 24, 2020. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsABUJA, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Nigeria's suspended central bank governor Godwin Emefiele will appear in a high court in Abuja on Thursday, when he is expected to enter a plea in a 20-count indictment, a government lawyer said on Wednesday. Government lawyers, on Tuesday, said they had filed additional graft charges against the governor, including allegedly "conferring unlawful advantages" and "unlawful procurement". Local papers said the central bank employee was a director in the private company. Emefiele, suspended by President Bola Tinubu in June, had already pleaded not guilty to charges of possessing a firearm illegally, which were subsequently withdrawn.

Persons: Nigeria's Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele, Afolabi, Godwin Emefiele, Emefiele, Bola Tinubu, Tinubu, Camillus Eboh, Chijioke, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Nigeria's Central Bank Governor, MPC, REUTERS, Rights, Government, Thomson Locations: Abuja, Nigeria, Rights ABUJA, Lagos, Africa's

The need to reintroduce stringent capital controls comes as Russian authorities grapple with a sharply weakening rouble, which tumbled past 100 to the dollar on Monday. One source at an exporting firm said the discussions concerned the forced conversion of up to 90% of exporters' revenues. Exporters who fail to return revenues to Russia could lose government support measures, too. One Russian banking source told Reuters that about $39 billion is stuck in Indian banks, which oil companies are unable to return to Russia. The high-level source said a minimal level of revenues was held in rupees, with even less in roubles.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, Elena Fabrichnayaand Anastasia Lyrchikova, Gleb Stolyarov, Alexander Marrow, Gareth Jones, Nick Macfie Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, RBC, FX, Central Bank Governor, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine MOSCOW, Ukraine, Russia's, Moscow, India, Tbilisi

☆ Lebanon Freezes Accounts of Former Central Bank Governor
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Liz Alderman | More About Liz Alderman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Lebanese authorities on Monday froze the bank accounts of the country’s embattled former central bank governor, Riad Salameh, days after the United States, Britain and Canada imposed sanctions on him for “contributing to the breakdown of the rule of law in Lebanon” through decades of corruption. The action, announced by Lebanon’s interim central bank governor, Wassim Mansouri, followed an internal investigation. The assets of four people close to Mr. Salameh were also frozen by the central bank. They include Mr. Salameh’s brother, Raja Salameh; his son, Nady Salameh; Anna Kosakova, whom U.S. officials described as Mr. Salameh’s former partner; and his former assistant at the central bank, Marianne Hoayek. The U.S.-led coalition accused them of helping Mr. Salameh funnel hundreds of millions of dollars through layered shell companies to invest in European real estate so that he could amass an outsize fortune outside of the country.

Persons: Riad Salameh, Wassim Mansouri, Salameh, Salameh’s, Raja Salameh, Nady Salameh, Anna Kosakova, Marianne Hoayek Organizations: Monday, Lebanon’s Locations: United States, Britain, Canada, Lebanon ”, U.S

☆ Iraq set in 'battle' against dollar smugglers, c.bank governor says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Timour Azhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Last month, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Fed barred 14 Iraqi banks from conducting dollar transactions as part of a wider crackdown on dollar smuggling to Iran via the Iraqi banking system, U.S. officials said. Allaq said that action related to transfers from 2022, before a new platform that aimed to improve transparency went live. He said the central bank was undertaking a review of the banking sector and introducing new regulations that he said would likely see some banks close. "It would be very normal in the coming period to see a reduction in the (number of private banks)," he said. Since January the central bank has asked banks to provide detailed information on senders and recipients of transfers via an online platform.

Persons: Ali al, Allaq, Timour Azhari, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Reuters, U.S . Treasury Department, Fed, U.S . Federal, U.S, Thomson Locations: Iraq, Iran Baghdad, Washington, Tehran Banking, BAGHDAD, Iran, Turkey, Syria, United States, U.S, Tehran, Iraq's

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