One in five central banks pays unrealised gains to government
Most central banks have a formal agreement in place for sharing profits with government
Nearly 20% of central banks are expected to pay unrealised gains to the government, the Governance Benchmarks 2025 find. The practice can be problematic, because where the rise in asset values is ultimately not realised, it can impact the bank’s capital.
Data from 52 central banks shows 19.2% pay unrealised gains as part of their annual dividend to the government. The practice is somewhat more common among middle income countries – 20% of upper-middle income countries and 28.6% of lower-middle
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