ECB interest rates could be back in positive territory by year's end, the head of the French central bank said Friday, as soaring inflation puts pressure on policymakers. Record inflation in the eurozone has increased calls for the ECB to draw a line under its stimulus and follow other central...

The Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) on Thursday decided to increase the interest rate on its various monetary policy instruments by 50 basis points, effective Sunday, May 8. Local media reports said the decision comes in line with the CBJ's objective to maintain monetary and financial stability in Jordan, and...

The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) has decided to raise the Base Rate applicable to the Overnight Deposit Facility (ODF) by 50 basis points, effective from Thursday. This decision was taken following the US Federal Reserve Board’s announcement on Wednesday to increase the Interest on Reserve Balances (IORB) by...

The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) has announced that the new AED5 and AED10 banknotes have entered circulation in the UAE following distribution to all banks operating in the country.

The Central Bank of the UAE said that total bank deposits increased by 0.3 percent, climbing from AED 1,982.4 billion at the end of January 2022 to AED 1,988.2 billion at the end of February 2022. The bank said the rise in total bank deposits was due to growth in...

Annual Inflation in Lebanon has spiked to 208 percent in March despite the intervention of the country's Central Bank. According to the government data, transportation costs rose 489 percent compared to March 2021, with health expenses up 441 percent. Food and beverages climbed 390 percent, while restaurant and hotel costs...

The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) has launched two new banknotes, in five and ten dirham denominations, made of polymer and enhanced by advanced technical characteristics and security features. The new banknotes are the third issue of the national currency, and reflect the CBUAE’s aim to keep pace with...

Morocco's official reserve assets amounted to 329.1 billion ($33.39 billion) Dirhams on 1 April 2022, up by 8.2 percent compared to the same period in 2021, Morocco's central bank (Bank Al-Maghrib) has said. During the week of April 7-13, 2022, the Dirham depreciated by 1.06 percent against the US Dollar...

The country’s external debt services went up 5 percent, from nearly TND2 billion ($666.69 million) to about TND2.1 billion ($700.02 million).

Lebanon’s Deputy Prime Minister Saadeh al-Shami claimed on Monday that the country and its central bank had gone bankrupt. The claims seemed to be in line with exclusive reporting from TRENDS in December that said around $7 billion was missing from BDL’s books.

In the first official admission, Saadeh al-Shami said the losses have occurred and the government will try to reduce losses for the people. He said the losses will be distributed among the state, the Banque du Liban, banks and depositors.

The Egyptian and Saudi governments have signed a draft agreement for Saudi investments in the country totaling a projected $10 billion, according to a statement by the Egyptian cabinet.

Prosecutors are probing links Lebanon's central bank chief's link to criminal associations and money laundering.

Four Gulf Arab central banks followed in the footsteps of the US Federal Reserve and raised interest rates by a quarter percentage point for the first time since 2018.

A Lebanese judge Monday charged central bank chief Riad Salameh with "illicit enrichment" and money laundering after he failed to attend a court hearing for the fifth time, a judicial source told AFP. Judge Ghada Aoun also charged Salameh's brother Raja with "facilitating money laundering" after he was arrested last...

A Lebanese judge on Thursday arrested the brother of Central Bank governor Riad Salameh, both of whom are suspected of embezzlement and money laundering, judicial sources said. Judge Ghada Aoun arrested Raja Salameh "after questioning him for three hours", a court official told AFP on condition of anonymity. Riad Salameh...

The bank said the policy rate adjustments are consistent with its objectives of maintaining monetary stability.

The new rates are said to be effective from Thursday, March 17.

Markets are expecting a total of seven rate hikes this year, and while the US Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee typically moves in quarter-point steps, Fed Chair Jerome Powell has said it could be more aggressive if needed.

The Central Bank of UAE has approved the creation of 5,000 new jobs by the end of 2026 for Emirati nationals as part of the Emiratization of managerial positions in the banking and insurance sectors. The jobs will be created in coordination with the Emirates Institute for Banking and Financial...

Named Moyasar Financial Company, the new entity is expected to provide ecommerce payment services.

President Vladimir Putin ordered on Sunday Russia's nuclear forces onto high alert in response to what he called ‘unfriendly’ steps by the West. Russia has the world's largest arsenal of nuclear weapons and a huge cache of ballistic missiles. The United States, the world's second-largest nuclear power, slammed the order.

The sanctions came as the Russian military stepped up its bloody, multi-pronged assault against Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.

The ruble-dominated Moex index opened down 13.97 percent, while the dollar-dominated RTS was down 20.16 percent.

A new digital bank backed by ADQ, an Abu Dhabi-based investment and holding company, will soon begin operations, after the Central Bank of the UAE gave the approval.

The credit ratings agency has said the prospects for global economic growth have softened, even if it was to a modest extent.

Foreign exchange and gold reserves come in handy in many ways when a country is trying to ride out an economic crisis.

The Central Bank of the UAE will introduce a new set of terms and conditions for its standing credit and liquidity insurance facilities.

India will have its own digital currency starting 2022-23, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said while announcing the country’s budget for the upcoming financial year that begins April 1. The Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) would be issued by the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank.

The Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT) has authorized companies operating in the digital sector to bid for public tenders in convertible foreign currencies. Tunisian media reports, citing the National Federation of the Digital Sector, have said that bidding has been allowed within the framework of calls for tenders for imported...

The cryptocurrency has lost more than 40 percent of its value since its $67,582.60 peak on November 8 last year.

A Lebanese judicial delegation will meet French authorities in Paris next week to discuss investigations into Lebanon's central bank governor Riad Salameh, a judicial source said on Thursday. Salameh is among the top Lebanese officials widely blamed for the country's unprecedented financial crisis that the World Bank says is of...

Lebanon ministers said they aim to increase the hours of EDL’s power supply in the near future by securing Egyptian gas and Jordanian electricity.

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has issued controls the banks need to consider while issuing banking documents, Saudi media reports said. SAMA said that the controls (which can be accessed here https://www.sama.gov.sa/arsa/RulesInstructions/Pages/BankingRulesAndRegulations.aspx) oblige banks to provide e-verification services of banking documents issued electronically or on paper, where these documents should...

Riad Salameh is among the top Lebanese officials blamed for a financial crisis that the World Bank says is of a scale usually associated with wars.

  The Association of Banks in Jordan (ABJ) held a ceremony to honor the former Governor of the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ), Ziad Fariz, said reports. The ceremony was held via teleconference, and attended by Jordan's Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh, CBJ Governor Adel Sharkas, and ABJ Chairman Bassem Al-Salem,...

The Central Bank said on Friday that the Money Supply aggregate M1 increased by 2.1 percent, from AED 671.6 billion ($182 billion) at the end of October 2021 to AED 686.0 billion at the end of November 2021. The Money Supply aggregate M2 increased by 1.3 percent, from AED 1,498.3...

The Banque Centrale du Tunisie (BCT) board has urged for continued coordination between financial and monetary policies.

Bloomberg's Auction System is a part of Bloomberg's enterprise solution for central banks and government financial agencies.

To avoid giving the Taliban access to Afghanistan's reserves, Washington froze an estimated $10 billion held by the central bank abroad after the Taliban seized power on August 15.

Lebanon needs to receive 12 to 15 billion dollars from its partners to kickstart its economic recovery and shore up fast-diminishing foreign currency reserves, Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh said Tuesday. Lebanon is grappling with an unprecedented economic crisis branded by the World Bank as one of the planet's worst...

Turkey's troubled lira on Monday pared back some of its historic losses after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced new currency support measures that analysts interpreted as an indirect interest rate hike. Erdogan has pushed the central bank to sharply lower borrowing costs despite the annual rate of inflation soaring to...

The new methodology also introduces measurement of these exposures, based on credit risk-weighted assets using the CBUAE’s capital adequacy standards.

The Turkish lira on Thursday hit fresh lows after the central bank fired the latest salvo in President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's "economic war of independence" by cutting interest rates for the fourth successive month. The reduction of the main rate to 14 from 15 percent comes in the face of...

Even as Lebanon faces one of the worst economic crises, about US$7 billion remains missing from the Lebanese central bank’s 2020 balance sheet, data analysis by TRENDS suggests.

About US$7 billion is missing from Lebanese central bank’s 2020 balance sheet, data analysis by TRENDS suggests while highlighting weak government policies for the economic crisis.

Some observers predict the Lebanese pound could drop to a rate of 40,000 against the dollar or worse in the coming weeks. The financial crisis that started in 2019 is the worst in the country's history and has left four in five Lebanese living under the poverty line.

The new issue is the first banknote made of polymer material to be circulated in the UAE. Polymer banknotes are said to be more durable and sustainable than traditional cotton paper banknotes, lasting two or more times longer in circulation. The polymer can be completely recycled, thus reducing their environmental...

The Central Bank of Bahrain will offer the digital Dinar through a digital payments platform that can be accessed round the clock.

The Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) has joined the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS), a network of 100 central banks and financial supervisors that aims to accelerate the scaling up of green finance and develop recommendations for central banks' role in climate change. The bank, according to local...