Data
Most high income central banks engage in securities lending
But liquidity stress-testing tends to be common practice across middle income institutions
Large reserve holders use external managers for intel and new assets
Staff training trumps new asset class adoption as overall goal for third parties’ engagement
Asset delegation to external managers averages just 12%
One in 10 central banks considering reviews of allocations to external managers
Alpana Killawala on communications under six governors at the RBI
The former RBI comms chief speaks about the importance of strategic communications, courting the media, open mouth operations and altering a governor’s ‘rock star’ image
Central banks split over impact of US sanctions on dollar reserves
De-dollarisation, if it happens, will be very slow, central banks say
Reserve assets still rarely screened on ESG grounds
Bonds and equity indexes remain widely favoured for benchmarking
Ten central banks diversify portfolios with new asset classes
Institutions introduce green bonds and others into their reserve holdings
Asia-Pacific has highest assessing reserve adequacy metric
Ratios broadly higher among middle income central banks
Countries with high import coverage invest more in non-SDR debt
Breakdown of asset allocations shows Europe holds nearly half of world’s ESG-focused bonds
Portfolio managers make up largest share of reserve teams
Staff average annual earnings hover around $30,000 level
Financial Stability Benchmarks 2024 – model banks analysis
Further breakdowns of the data highlight patterns in governance, regulatory reform and cyber risk
All eyes on the Fed
The US central bank faces a challenging path to fulfil its mandated goals
Global house prices have ‘almost stabilised’ – BIS
Prices still declining in aggregate, a trend driven mainly by China and the eurozone
Financial Stability Benchmarks 2024 report – seeking sounder banks
Banking regulation remains a work in progress for many central banks, but staffing is a problem
Campos Neto on inflation targeting, independence and the future of financial intermediation
The Brazilian governor speaks with Christopher Jeffery about tackling inflation, the need for financial autonomy, and redefining the financial landscape with open finance, programmable Pix, deposit tokenisation and sound cross-border payments governance
Cyber crime is central banks’ top financial instability risk
Upper-middle income countries more likely to be wary of foreign exchange crisis
BIS publishes centuries of data on central bank balance sheets
New “spliced” series extends back to founding of Sweden’s Riksbank in 17th century
Supra-national stress tests less common in middle income countries
Most central banks conduct stress tests of banks more than once a year
BoC paper offers monetary policy ‘decision synthesis’
Authors say model combination method helps capture complexities of decision-making
Majority of central banks carry out cyber defence exercises
Respondents suggest ways to improve exercises’ effectiveness in building up resilience
Cyber attacks increased in most countries over past two years
Central banks want cyber experts, awareness campaigns and collaborations to mitigate risks
Central banks say co-operation on AML/CFT effective
But some still want improved data sharing, surveillance and relationships
UK CPI up less than expected as services inflation falls
Figures may help allay concerns over persistent wage pressures
Rising AML/CFT risks reported in 40% of jurisdictions
But majority of central banks empowered and well equipped to mitigate risks