Finance & Economics | WPN World People News

Bank board members must be personally liable for mistakes and banks' riskier trading activities must be clearly separated from their more conservative lending ones, said MEPs on Wednesday, in a resolution setting out Parliament's priorities for a broad overhaul of EU banks.

Resilient regional economic growth and strong domestic demand is expected to facilitate Lao PDR’s robust economic growth this year. Lao PDR’s economy is expected to grow at 8% in 2013, fueled by growth from the services, hydropower, construction, and food processing sectors.

Indonesia is adjusting to continued pressures on the economy, marked by slower first quarter growth and moderating domestic demand, as well as a long-anticipated reduction in fuel subsidies coupled with a comprehensive compensation package, according to the World Bank’s latest Indonesia Economic Quarterly (IEQ).

The World Bank approved $375 million in concessional financing and $25 million in a grant to Bangladesh to increase the resilience of the coastal population to climate change induced flooding and other natural disasters.

The latest World Bank review of policies and institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa shows an overall stable environment for growth and poverty reduction despite divergence across countries.

With the emergence of the best known face of British banking in America, JPMorgan Chase, to fight in its own name against the reinstitution of Glass-Steagall banking separation, the battle for reviving that vital FDR measure has undergone a crucial change. What is clear is that the British bankers are now on the defensive against an accelerating trend toward Glass-Steagall.

Members of European Parliament provisionally agreed rules on the "Connecting Europe Facility" (CEF) – the EU's mechanism to fund infrastructure projects for trans-European transport, energy and telecoms networks – with the Irish Presidency of Council on Thursday. The deal on the package still needs to be confirmed by member states.

The Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) has decided to temporarily suspend the eligibility of marketable debt instruments issued or fully guaranteed by the Republic of Cyprus for use as collateral in Eurosystem monetary policy operations. This decision takes into account the changes in the credit rating of the Republic of Cyprus as a result of the transactions announced by the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Cyprus on 27 June 2013.

The World Bank has approved a $30 million credit to help Nepal accelerate its financial sector reform program to reduce vulnerability of the banking sector and increase its transparency.