Asia-Pacific
Do central bank governors make good prime ministers?
Mark Carney may become latest to make the leap, but the record elsewhere has been mixed
Thailand picks central bank chair after long delay
Panel selects government candidate after previous nomination nullified, media reports
State-owned banks must support real economy – PBoC official
Deputy governor calls on big lenders to take on greater role amid rumours of capital injection
Central banks split on whether CBDC will impact seigniorage
Some respondents see seigniorage depending on CBDC design choices
Thailand unexpectedly cuts rates as growth poised to slow
Domestic manufacturing sector faces “intense competition” from abroad, BoT says
Central banks widely exploring RTGSs’ interoperability with CBDCs
High income institutions more likely to research the issue than their middle income counterparts
Bank of Korea resumes easing and lowers GDP forecast
Cut of 25bp aimed at boosting economy as country grapples with US tariffs and domestic political drama
Half of institutions have a central data collection centre
Respondents with data collection system more likely to automate regulatory filings
Flexibility and business continuity seen as key benefits of cloud services
But three in four fintech teams point at privacy as concern
Central banks more likely to use software-based cloud services
Cloud widely used for cyber security and other applications
China holds loan prime rates
PBoC stays put again as yuan strengthens after Trump signals potential trade talks with Xi
AI spreads further among fintech teams
Centralised fintech teams more likely to apply AI/ML to sentiment analysis
Bank Indonesia holds rates at 5.75%
Central bank faces dilemma of whether to prioritise bolstering growth or propping up currency
Half of planned CBDCs designed to be programmable
Two-thirds of wholesale CBDCs likely to be programmable
Most central banks without CBDC mandate engaged in retail projects
Only one in three banks has a legal mandate for CBDC issuance, but many are still working on digital currency
China to focus more on consumption, says PBoC governor
Pan Gongsheng wants domestic demand to be “key driver of growth”
American central banks less likely to struggle with fintech recruitment
But American banks face toughest battle for talent retention
China to make use of all monetary tools to boost growth
PBoC flags external volatility and renews pledge to support economy in quarterly report
Fintechs more likely to be licensed in upper-middle income countries
Licence issue rate across central banks broadly unchanged year on year
Philippines unexpectedly pauses easing cycle
BSP would have continued cutting if not for “uncertainty over trade policy”, governor says
Cyber, suptech and CBDCs are top areas for fintech research
Central banks with fintech strategy more likely to prioritise CBDCs