Loose monetary policy makes it easy for euro-area banks to keep bad debt on their books, potentially delaying the flushing out of sour loans, the Bank for International Settlements said in its annual report.

Record sales of high-yield payment-in-kind bonds is triggering uneasiness among international regulators who are concerned investors may suffer losses when central banks tighten monetary policy.

Central banks can’t expand loose monetary policy without exacerbating risks to world economies, the Bank for International Settlements said.

The Basel-based Bank for International Settlements which is owned by 60 central banks “fosters international monetary and financial co-operation and serves as a bank for central banks” states Wikipedia.

Banks will need a healthy push by governments to fix balance sheets, abandon risky businesses and serve the public to avoid prolonging the financial crisis, the Bank for International Settlements said.

French banks cut their overseas lending by almost $200bn in the final quarter of last year, adding to an even sharper retreat in the previous three months and highlighting the scale of their loan pull-back, international lending data show.

GREEK prime minster George Papandreou’s decision to hold a referendum on the bailout deal agreed as part of last week's EU summit outcome was courageous.

Very low interest rates are not in the interests of global financial stability, a major financial organisation has stated.

GLOBAL interest rates must rise to avoid high inflation becoming entrenched, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) said yesterday.

A leading Irish economist has said that the Government has no option but to implement systematic cost-cutting in the public service in next week’s budget, stating that “in the current circumstances we have no option but to cut our cloth to match our means”.

EUROPEAN Central Bank policymakers yesterday stressed their concern that high oil prices may curb growth and stoke inflation in the eurozone.

The European Central Bank today announced plans to support the development of a new publication focused on central bank theory and practice and issued a call for research papers.

LACK of solid US data pushed the dollar to record lows yesterday as the euro hit a high of $1.2898.

Libya has officially accepted responsibility for the 1988 Lockerbie bombing.

LIBYA has agreed to set up a €2.4 billion fund for families of 270 people killed in the 1988 Pan Am bombing, the families' lawyers said, a move that could end UN sanctions and resolve an issue that has made the country an international pariah.

A £1.7bn (€2.4bn) deal to compensate the families of 270 victims killed in the Lockerbie bombing has been agreed by Libya, it was announced today.