Articles by Central Banking staff
The Central Banking Awards 2020 virtual ceremony
View the trophy presentations and acceptance comments from all the winners recognised in the seventh annual Central Banking Awards
European central banks remain leaders for gold
Average gold holdings on the continent stand at 10.6 million ounces
Advanced economy central banks use more custodians
Reserve managers in advanced economies work on average with 5.6 custodians
One third of reserves staff work in front-office roles
Average reserve management team size is less than 30 employees
Advanced economies take the lead in securities lending
Nearly 60% of reserve managers lend out assets that are in high demand
Boards are the main authority for benchmark approvals
Risk management teams tend to lead effort to propose new benchmarks
Lower-income countries generate highest reserves growth
Most reserves portfolios appear to have weathered the Covid-19 crisis well
Few central banks consider climate risk within benchmarks
Despite central banks supporting mandatory climate risk disclosures, very few account for it in their benchmarks
Asia tops rankings for reserves coverage ratios
Asia leads across three main metrics, but the region may be moderating its holdings
Europe leads on reserve manager salaries
Central banks pay a wide range of salaries to their reserve managers
Many Paris Agreement signatories do not use ESG screens
Most reserve managers fail to take environmental factors into account for FX portfolios
Emerging markets act as standard bearers for tranching
Nearly two-thirds of reserve managers tranche; largest allocations made to investment tranche
Lower-income nations invest more with external managers
Third-party institutions offer staff training and new asset class investments
Collateral posting spreads among swaps users
Following the Bank of England’s example, most derivatives users now have two-way CSAs
Some large reserve managers eschew liquidity stress tests
Majority of central banks test for thin trading, but three in 10 larger managers do not
Sarb to buy government bonds
South African central bank also broadens refinancing operations to boost liquidity
Major economies already engaging in ‘currency wars’ – former IMF chief
De Larosière floats new commodity-based exchange rate regime; says “trust” is key to avoiding “beggar-thy-neighbour” policies
Website of the year: Central Bank of Brazil
The new bilingual site offers enhanced communications to the full range of stakeholders
Global markets award: HSBC
The UK-headquartered bank is a leader in green finance and helped its clients navigate the low-rate environment over the past year
Collateral management services: National Bank of Georgia/Montran
The duo developed Georgia’s fully automated new collateral framework
Communications initiative: Bank of Jamaica
The Bank of Jamaica broke the mould with its reggae-inspired communications strategy, but observers suggest it has done more than just lift the economic literacy of its society
Transparency: Reserve Bank of New Zealand
Publication of new MPC handbook and minutes increases RBNZ’s openness
Specialised lending initiative: BNP Paribas
A new ‘global’ setup helped secure US dollar-denominated assets from a Eurosystem central bank
Lifetime achievement award: Otmar Issing
The architect of the euro’s monetary operating framework is still playing an important role in shaping the debate on monetary policy