Articles by Central Banking staff
Emerging economies more likely to employ access-to-cash policies
Central banks split on access-to-cash policies
Raised ink main banknote feature for visually impaired
Different banknote sizes used by over 70% of respondents
Three in 10 currency departments have a climate strategy
Around half of central banks recycle banknotes but few measure their carbon footprint
Monetary Policy Benchmarks 2021 – presentation
Central Banking’s monetary policy subject specialist Daniel Hinge speaks with Christopher Jeffery about the governance of the policy function, forecast processes, transparency and more
Transactional cash usage ebbs and flows in response to Covid-19
The proportion of payments made in cash ranged from 3% to 88%
Currency managers fighting counterfeits with new security features
Availability of sophisticated printers see counterfeits continue to rise
Financial Stability Benchmarks 2021 report – executive summary
Findings on financial crime, banking stability, macro-prudential tools, decision-making and future risks
Central banks sign up to Fed’s Fima facility
Reported usage is marginal, but backstop is highly valued by reserve managers
Custodian use in upper-middle income economies declines
Unstable jurisdictions, such as Afghanistan or Venezuela, face risk of losing access to assets held abroad
Bespoke indexes often used with derivatives and securities
Central banks using bespoke indexes are more likely to lend securities
Europe leads on gold lending and swaps
Just over 20% of central banks engage in these operations
Technology reserve staff levels hold during pandemic
Remote work posed an operational challenge
Investment committees play dual reserve benchmark roles
Final decision made by committees at half of responding central banks
Reserve coverage remains at adequate levels despite Covid
FX interventions to tackle capital outflows have not meaningfully reduced portfolios globally
Central banks divided on liquidity stress tests
Central banks with lower reserves more likely to forgo the measure
People: Portugal reappoints board member two years late
Second woman to join Paraguay board; Central Bank of Russia appoints government official to lead financial ombudsman; and more
One in ten central banks opened new liquidity swap lines
Benchmarking participants expanded lines in dollars, euro and renminbi
Securities lending prevalent in European central banks
Monetary policy, market maturity and currency variation may limit adoption in other regions
National income not only determinant of reserve management staff numbers
Salaries ranged between $11,968–$138,768 among benchmark participants
Payments Benchmarks 2021 – presentation
Central Banking’s payments subject matter specialist Rachael King speaks with Christopher Jeffery about payments, staffing and salaries, mandates, oversight, and RTGS renewal
Most central banks invest in derivatives
External managers facilitate wider use of these instruments
External asset manager use on the rise
Central banks in upper-middle income countries allocated a higher share of reserves to external managers
Emerging nations turned to FX interventions during pandemic
Central banks in emerging nations were twice as likely to implement FX interventions than their peers in advanced economies
Reserve managers prioritise liquidity tranches during pandemic
Central banks increased this part of their portfolios in the wake of US Treasury disruptions