LOOSE CHANGE

A memorial service for Ben Smart of Royal Bank of Canada's London branch, who has died at the age of 26, will take place at St James's Church, Garlick Hill, EC4, on May 8 at 6 p.m. Smart, who was known throughout the industry, had worked for RBC for 18 months, most recently on the financial institutions desk but before that on the night desk. His funeral was attended by representatives of all sections of the London market. A spokesman for RBC says that anyone wishing to attend the memorial service should telephone Dianne Hart on 171 653 4110. FX Week extends condolences to his family and colleagues.

China's foreign exchange reserves reached $80.83 billion at the end of the first quarter, making them the world's fourth largest, according to the official Xinhua news agency. Foreign exchange reserves surged to $7.24 billion during the first quarter from $73.59 billion in December 1995. China's reserves have resulted in stable exchange rates for the yen.

Venezuela's currency sank 42 per cent when the government lifted foreign exchange and interest rate controls on April 22. The bolivar floated from a level of 290 to the dollar to as high as 500 on the hectic first day of trading after liberalisation. Officials say they will allow the currency to float for an unspecified period before setting up a trading band that will be defended using currency reserves.

Information technology expenditure in City trading rooms is predicted to rise by 10 per cent to £2.2 billion this year, with half the total being spent on new systems. The forecast, made by Kimsey Consulting of London's 1996 Dealing Room Survey, also predicts expenditure of £1.1 billion on technology running costs. Demand for new dealing room technology remains "buoyant" with about 50 per cent of U.K. trading rooms having undertaken some kind of technology upgrade in the past year.

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift) has started publicising its annual conference, Sibos '96, by sending out five weighty documents rounding up the proceedings from last year (FXN, November 13). This year's theme is 'Entering a New Era' which Swift says is relevant because of globalisation, increasing customer sophistication and emerging technologies. Those who have the stomach to plough through the booklet on FX, money markets and derivatives will notice a sobering response when delegates were asked by Lisa Galaif of Barclays Bank how many of them had read the Foreign Exchange Committee report from 1994 on reducing settlement risk? The record says the show of hands indicated "not many."