Federal Reserve
Fed links op risk and disclosure
WASHINGTON, DC - Two Federal Reserve speeches in May highlighted the links between corporate governance and risk management.
Fed's Ferguson says Basel II will apply to 20 US banks
The number of US banks expected to implement Basel II is now likely to be twice the number unveiled to a stunned international banking community during Congressional testimony in February, Roger Ferguson, vice-chairman of the US Federal Reserve, has told…
Fed’s Ferguson says Basel II will apply to 20 US banks
The number of US banks expected to implement Basel II is now likely to be twice the number unveiled to a stunned international banking community during Congressional testimony in February, Roger Ferguson, vice-chairman of the US Federal Reserve, has told…
Ferguson named chairman of FSF
Roger Ferguson, vice-chairman of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System, was named chairman of the Financial Stability Forum (FSF) today.
Basel II: a continental rift
The Basel Committee envisaged an Accord that would be applied to all the world's banks to create a 'level playing field'. But the recent fracas between the US and the EU over implementation threatens this goal.
US-UK regulators clash over Basel II implementation
Last week, senior executives from the US Federal Reserve and the UK Financial Services Authority clashed over the differing implementation plans for the Basel Accord revisions in a pair of speeches delivered to two financial industry trade organization…
Costs of derivatives “exaggerated” and benefits “downplayed”, say Fed officials
Two officials at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas have dismissed suggestions that the light oversight of derivatives during the 1990s has led to a “breakdown” of the banking system.
US-based Basel opponents cry "foul" on commercial real estate
Small and medium-sized US banks will be hit hard by the treatment of commercial real estate under the proposed revisions to the Basel Accord, according to Sarah Moore, chief operating officer of the Colonial Bank Group, a regional US bank, at…
US deadlines for regulatory proposals revealed
The US plans to kick its Basel II regulation machine into gear fairly quickly, according to a source with regulatory connections.
US regulators restrict Basel II adoption amid agency infighting
In Congressional hearings on February 27, top US bank regulators sharply criticised the proposed Basel Accord revisions, and used their criticisms to justify plans to apply the new set of international banking regulations to only the top 10 banks in the…
New chairman for Committee on Global Financial System
Roger Ferguson, vice-chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, was named chairman of the Basel-based Committee on the Global Financial System (CGFS), the Bank for International Settlements said today.
McDonough bows out from New York Fed
William McDonough, president and chief executive of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for the past 10 years, will retire on July 21 this year.
US Senate calls for structured finance probe
The structured finance businesses of leading financial institutions in the United States are set to face a major business practice investigation during the next six months, with top US regulators set to introduce a new code of governance for structured…
Greenspan says international rules reflect cultural differences
WASHINGTON – Efforts to synchronise individual countries' regulatory systems are far more than a technical exercise – they largely reflect differing conventions of business behaviour, especially attitudes toward competition, US Federal Reserve Board…
Fitch to investigate credit derivatives risk concentrations
Credit rating agency Fitch Ratings is concerned that the rapid growth and lack of transparency in the synthetic credit markets could be leading to alarming concentrations of risk with specific market participants.
Fed to explore operational risks in clearance of US government securities
The US Federal Reserve Board has established a private sector working group to recommend steps to mitigate operational risks in the clearance and settlement of US government securities.
Potential for instability over-hyped, says Ferguson
The potential for the new risk management instruments and techniques to produce instability has been overestimated, Federal Reserve vice-chairman Roger Ferguson told delegates at a conference in New York, sponsored by the American Institute of Certified…
Deutsche Bank reveals role in 9/11 liquidity facility
Michael Reuther, global head of funding at Deutsche Bank, has revealed today how the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York created an emergency €50 billion ‘synthetic’ liquidity facility in the wake of last year’s World Trade…
Fed's Gordy criticises Basel II procyclicality adjustment
NEW YORK - The procyclicality ‘smoothing’ adjustment technique likely to form part of the Basel II capital Accord is sub-optimal, according to Michael Gordy, a senior economist in the research and statistics division of the Board of Governors of the…
Top regulators denounce attempt to resurrect OTC energy bill
The four most senior financial regulators in the United States have joined forces to express concern at legislative proposals to expand regulation of over-the-counter energy derivatives.
Greenspan defends Fed’s role in tech bubble
The US Federal Reserve’s chairman, Alan Greenspan, claimed that it is far from obvious that a bubble, even if identified early, can be pre-empted by a central bank without inducing a substantial contraction in the economy, but conceded that better models…
Op Risk Looks Back... To the 18th Century
The 300-year-old statistical methods of Thomas Bayes are experiencing a renaissance.
US central banker urges pillar 3 action now in light of scandals
Recent accounting scandals mean international banks should start improving their disclosure of risks and capital adequacy now and not wait for the pillar 3 disclosure provisions of the Basel II bank accord to take effect in late 2006, a senior US central…
Basel II models have little relevance for developing countries, US banker says
Banking supervisors in developing countries should focus on the risk environment in which banks operate because relying on banks to measure their own safety and soundness may give little useful information about a banking sector, a senior US central…