Articles by Central Banking staff
Payments and market infrastructure development – retail: Central Bank of Brazil’s Pix
The implementation of the Pix real-time payment system in Brazil was a runaway success in terms of payment activity, innovations and inclusion
Payments and market infrastructure development – wholesale: Reserve Bank of India
The RBI’s work on its 24/7/365 RTGS can serve as a model and possibly as the bedrock for an international RTGS that operates around the clock
Financial stability initiative: ECB’s SSMnet
Online tool fosters cohesion, agility and effectiveness for supervisors working across member institutions of the European Single Supervisory Mechanism
Currency initiative: Central Bank of the Philippines’ Cash Service Alliance
Homegrown IT system allows Philippine central bank to direct cashflows between banks during Covid-19
Currency manager: Central Bank of Costa Rica
New banknotes and coins combine environmental protection, aesthetics and security
Payment services: CMA
The Swedish payments firm is well known as a provider of core infrastructure for central banks, and is now a key player in a new payment system linking the Arab world and beyond
Currency services: De La Rue
Printing doyen expanded capacity, functionality and market share amid corporate turnaround
Technology services – regulatory: Regnology
The regtech/suptech provider continues to innovate, securing major new contracts with central banks and regulators
Financial market infrastructure services: SIA
The Italian company impressed with its multi-year work on the ‘big-bang’ implementation of Canada’s new RTGS
Economics Benchmarks 2021 – presentation
Central Banking’s economics subject matter specialist Daniel Hinge speaks with Chris Jeffery about governance, modelling, forecasts and research
Role of boards differs widely across central banks
All benchmark respondents have boards, but powers and responsibilities show great variety
More central banks have diversity and sustainability policies
But these policies remain less common than codes of ethics and whistleblower policies
Heads of state often play key role in governor appointments
Benchmark respondents say governors’ terms last four to seven years
Fintech Benchmarks 2022 – executive summary
Intelligence on internal fintech challenges at central banks as they contend with the fast-paced industry
Board sizes vary widely across central banks
Board terms average around five years and non-executive directors are common
Communications initiative: Bank of Jamaica
‘Centrally Speaking’ underpins not just education, but monetary policy
Outstanding contribution for capacity building: Peter Nicholl
Governor of Bosnia’s central bank helped rebuild an economy ravaged by civil war
Website: Central Bank of Eswatini
The southern African central bank has made significant improvements to its website service
Global markets: HSBC
The bank’s long-term commitment to clients and its wide range of expertise shone in 2021 as central banks navigated the aftermath of the Covid-19 shock
Collateral management services: Vermeg
The firm has added another G7 central bank to its list of clients, and is immersed in a major project to build the eurozone’s new collateral management system
Advisory services: Kroll
The US firm shed light on the ‘missing banknotes’ scandal in Liberia, and is now working with the central bank to overhaul its cash operations
Rich countries’ central banks less likely to manage sovereign debt
Practice is more common among middle and lower income countries, and in Africa and the Americas
Three-quarters of surveyed central banks answer to parliaments
Held accountable: benchmark responses on how central banks report on their activities
China holds loan prime rates
One-year remains at 3.7% and above five-years at 4.6%