Europe
ECB holds rates again, cuts inflation projections
Lagarde hints that any cut is likelier in June than April, says bank is watching wage data
ECB warns Hungarian law could harm central bank’s independence
Bid to expand executive board powers comes amid growing rift between governor and prime minister
Supply shocks driving eurozone inflation, ECB study finds
Rising food and energy costs are main contributors, along with hangover effects from pandemic
Standardised FRTB leaves banks befuddled on residual risk
Benchmarking exercises find “weak consensus” among banks over notional values for exotics
CMU should drive green and digital transitions, says BdF governor
Villeroy de Galhau calls for capital markets union to adopt “higher purpose”
Most central banks’ cloud services are software-focused
Operational environment is largely hybrid and public, while access to server is often domestic
Fintech employees trained in AI in just over one-third of central banks
Senior management staff are least trained across jurisdictions
ECB research examines big issues affecting productivity
Reports assess impact on eurozone of digitisation, climate change and pandemic lockdowns
AI being adopted in over half of central banks
Supervision, document automation, data analysis and research are primary areas of use
Bundesbank and DNB announce large losses
Dutch central bank improves its profit forecast but Nagel anticipates continuing shortfalls
Regtech strategy still lacking in majority of central banks
Stress testing, AML/CFT risk and reporting are top areas of application
ECB suffers first loss in two decades as rate risk bites
Loss takes €7 billion chunk out of central bank’s equity
Suptech strategy adoption remains below 50%
Resource constraints and data quality issues are still barriers
Nearly all central banks see CBDC as environmentally friendly
Few jurisdictions see initiative as comparable to banknotes’ lifecycle
Central banks fear CBDC will heighten cyber threats
European jurisdictions less likely to be deterred by security concerns
Improving domestic payments efficiency drives retail CBDC research
Barriers to adoption include concerns around privacy, disintermediation and operational risk
Wholesale CBDC work remains less popular than retail
Like retail, central banks say domestic payments efficiency is key driver
One in four central banks exploring blockchain, DLT and tokenisation
No respondents say they are researching or collaborating on quantum computing
ECB policy has been effective in credit markets, paper finds
Bank of Estonia research examines loan availability in eurozone from 2005 to 2022
Legal mandates for CBDC issuance remain rare among central banks
Some await parliamentary approval as framework examination commences in their jurisdictions
EU isolates frozen Russian central bank interest
European leaders are divided over using Bank of Russia assets to fund Ukraine’s defence
Eurozone’s reserve-rich banks less sensitive to rate hikes, paper finds
Higher reserves meant some banks kept lending after rates rose, Bundesbank paper says
More than half of central banks have a fintech strategy
Implementation challenged by poor regulation and talent scarcity
Eurozone rate cut is ‘fast approaching’, says Panetta
Bank of Italy governor warns that delaying looser policy could lead to financial instability