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1 week ago | 
centralbanking.com | Aditya Kumar |Christopher Jeffery |Daniel Hinge |Daniel Blackburn
Turkey’s central bank today (April 17) raised its policy rate to 46%, up from 42.5%, in its latest attempt to calm the markets following last month’s arrest of a prominent opposition figure. The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) also raised the overnight lending rate to 49% from 46% and the overnight borrowing rate to 44.5% from 41%. The bank had raised the overnight lending rate by 200 basis points on March 20, while leaving the policy repurchase auction rate and overnight borrowing
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3 weeks ago | 
centralbanking.com | Aditya Kumar |Christopher Jeffery |Daniel Hinge |Daniel Blackburn
Karim Souaid has been appointed as governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon (BdL), the country’s council of ministers announced on March 27. The appointment of Souaid, who heads an asset management firm in the UAE, followed intense negotiations that began when Lebanon’s new president and prime minister took office in January. The selection process for the new governor also involved consultations with the US government. Souaid was the candidate favoured by president Joseph Aoun. Media reported that
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4 weeks ago | 
centralbanking.com | Aditya Kumar |Christopher Jeffery |Daniel Hinge |Daniel Blackburn
Tweet Facebook LinkedIn Save this article Send to Print this page Israel’s central bank governor on March 26 criticised the government’s budget and said tax rises alone would not be enough to offset higher military spending and reduce the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio. Amir Yaron argued that the government missed an opportunity to drive growth and improve productivity, according to a report by Reuters.
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1 month ago | 
centralbanking.com | Aditya Kumar |Christopher Jeffery |Daniel Hinge |Daniel Blackburn
Iran’s central bank announced on March 11 that it would raise the limit on daily cash withdrawals from 2 million to 3 million rials ($71, according to the official exchange rate). The change, which will take effect from March 15 until April 8, is timed to coincide with the period around the Persian New Year, which falls on March 21. Iran has a cap on withdrawals from cash machines because the value of the rial has been falling in recent months and large-scale withdrawals would threaten the
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1 month ago | 
centralbanking.com | Aditya Kumar |Christopher Jeffery |Daniel Hinge |Daniel Blackburn
Protesters occupied the office of the Central Bank of Ireland on March 10 in opposition to the bank’s involvement in the sale of Israeli government bonds. According to the Irish Independent, members of the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign entered the bank’s premises and said they wished to present a letter to the governor, Gabriel Makhlouf. The building was then placed under temporary lockdown, with no one allowed to enter or leave. Members of the solidarity campaign also staged a protest
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1 month ago | 
centralbanking.com | Aditya Kumar |Christopher Jeffery |Daniel Hinge |Daniel Blackburn
The Bank of Israel has defended its actions following criticism from the chair of a parliamentary committee. Moshe Gafni, a member of the Knesset (parliament) and chair of its finance committee, said on March 4 that the high rates set by the bank had enabled lenders to accumulate excess profits. These, he said, had been amassed at a time when restrictions caused by the wars in Gaza and Lebanon meant many Israelis were struggling to make ends meet. In its response to Gafni, seen by Central Banking
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1 month ago | 
centralbanking.com | Aditya Kumar |Christopher Jeffery |Daniel Hinge |Daniel Blackburn
Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey on March 5 told members of the UK parliament’s treasury select committee that disinflation was still on track. Defending his decision to vote for the 25 basis point cut that took the bank rate to 4.5% on February 5, Bailey said the “underlying disinflation story” still held. He added that the erosion of the persistence of inflation, resulting from shocks such as the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, was continuing. The BoE’s chief economist, Huw Pill
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1 month ago | 
centralbanking.com | Aditya Kumar |Christopher Jeffery |Daniel Hinge |Daniel Blackburn
The governor of Bangladesh’s central bank has said the country has no need to rely on the International Monetary Fund as its foreign reserves position has “significantly improved”. Speaking at an event organised by the Business Standard newspaper in Dhaka on March 4, Ahsan Mansur said “our external financial position is now very strong”. “To address the government’s budget deficit, increasing revenue is the only solution,” he said. “If we can increase revenue, we won’t need to rely on the IMF. I
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1 month ago | 
centralbanking.com | Aditya Kumar |Christopher Jeffery |Daniel Hinge |Daniel Blackburn
Attempts by Tunisia’s president to erode the central bank’s independence could have serious consequences for the country’s economy, analysts tell Central Banking. Bassem Snaije, associate professor of economics at Sciences Po in Paris, tells Central Banking that president Kais Saied is using central bank funds to finance his government’s deficit while he looks for more long-term funding elsewhere. An amendment to the central bank law, passed last February, forced the Central Bank of Tunisia to
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1 month ago | 
centralbanking.com | Aditya Kumar |Christopher Jeffery |Daniel Hinge |Daniel Blackburn
The Bank of Israel’s monetary policy committee on February 24 held its policy rate at 4.5% for its ninth consecutive meeting. The decision to hold comes as Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, considers whether to approve the budget for the current financial year. The proposed package includes a range of tax rises and spending cuts as the authorities try to mitigate the impact on the economy from the wars with Hamas militants in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Annual headline consumer price inflation
