Asia
Most central banks satisfied with policy autonomy
EME central banks say they are more likely to face pressure over monetary policy
Some internal policies differ by country income
Central banks likely to have ethics codes and whistleblower policies regardless of national income
Boards’ make-up differs across jurisdictions
Emerging market economy boards more likely to include government officials and ministers
Countries vary on governor appointment powers
Poorer countries more likely to combine powers, while richer ones split responsibilities
Central banks’ roles differ by national wealth
Few central banks have task of overseeing sovereign wealth funds
Most governments can change mandates without consulting central banks
Most jurisdictions’ central bank laws either limit or forbid monetary financing
Central banks differ over board term limits
Nearly half of responding central banks impose no term limits on board members
EME governors more likely to leave role early
Emerging market economy countries also less likely to limit number of terms governors can serve
Apac central banks reassure amid Credit Suisse woes
Central banks in Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong say banking systems remain stable
Central database is ‘cornerstone’ of open banking
Cyber security and financial literacy are key obstacles to data-sharing, experts say
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EME fintech teams have wider mandates
Few chief fintech officers recruited by central banks
Regulating fintech is biggest tech challenge, central banks say
Benefits include financial inclusion, cost reduction and service efficiency
Central banks split on machine learning, AI technologies
Respondents optimise features despite drags in data quality, skills gap and algorithmic challenges
Location, security and privacy are top cloud concerns
Richer economies more likely to domesticate and operate hybrid servers
Cloud used for business continuity and advancing computation
Most institutions rely on third parties for services
Retail CBDC work more common than wholesale
Most jurisdictions still lack a legal mandate to issue a CBDC
Central banks are bullish on environmental features of CBDC
A minority of respondents’ jurisdictions prohibit crypto assets
Improving payments efficiency drives wholesale CBDC work
Advanced economy institutions lead efforts
Richer nations more likely to have regtech strategy
Regtech tools commonly used for risk assessment
BoT’s Sethaput on inflation dynamics, central bank mandates and multi-lateral payments
The Bank of Thailand governor speaks with Christopher Jeffery about the trend towards higher inflation, the sustainable finance challenge, experiments with CBDCs and governance issues related to multi-lateral payments
Laotian central bank launches CBDC pilot
Bank of the Lao PDR working with Japanese government and fintech firm to test CBDC
Innovation hubs more common in advanced economies
Sandboxes remain most popular fintech initiative
Two in five central banks report having a suptech strategy
Enhancing efficiency is a key driver