Reserves
European central banks remain leaders for gold
Average gold holdings on the continent stand at 10.6 million ounces
Spread gap between green and grey bonds closing – BIS specialist
Measuring and incorporating sustainability still a challenge, says Omar Zulaica
Advanced economy central banks use more custodians
Reserve managers in advanced economies work on average with 5.6 custodians
One third of reserves staff work in front-office roles
Average reserve management team size is less than 30 employees
Moral mandates better suited to ESG adoption than financial goals – panel
Lack of liquid green bond markets limits a wider adoption of ESG investment strategies
China’s CBDC could change global reserves, panellist argues
A digital yuan, if accessed widely, could change the reserve currency landscape, policy-makers say
Diversification makes gold shine brighter – panellists
Negative sovereign yields boost gold’s attractiveness among reserve managers
Advanced economies take the lead in securities lending
Nearly 60% of reserve managers lend out assets that are in high demand
Boards are the main authority for benchmark approvals
Risk management teams tend to lead effort to propose new benchmarks
EM reserves ‘crucial’ in mitigating Covid-19 outflows, says Mauritius governor
Foreign exchange buffers helped to mitigate volatility in financial markets
Reserve managers weigh options to escape low yields
Longer-duration and emerging-market bonds may offer the way forward to portfolio managers
Mauritius governor defends central bank’s funding of government
“Unprecedented times” require “unprecedented set of measures” including $1.5bn funding of government, says Harvesh Seegolam
Lower-income countries generate highest reserves growth
Most reserves portfolios appear to have weathered the Covid-19 crisis well
Few central banks consider climate risk within benchmarks
Despite central banks supporting mandatory climate risk disclosures, very few account for it in their benchmarks
Asian reserves proved more resilient in Covid crisis – reserve managers
Limited use of Fed’s ‘Fima’ facility highlights improved reserve management, says panellist
Half of reserve managers use bespoke index benchmarks
Those using external managers can choose bespoke, but public indexes remain predominant
Euro failing to challenge US dollar in global reserves – CBI Benchmarks data
Among non-European central banks euro sovereign debt accounts for just 4.1% of reserves; negative rates act as a major barrier, say reserve managers
Asia tops rankings for reserves coverage ratios
Asia leads across three main metrics, but the region may be moderating its holdings
Europe leads on reserve manager salaries
Central banks pay a wide range of salaries to their reserve managers
Many Paris Agreement signatories do not use ESG screens
Most reserve managers fail to take environmental factors into account for FX portfolios
Emerging markets act as standard bearers for tranching
Nearly two-thirds of reserve managers tranche; largest allocations made to investment tranche
Lower-income nations invest more with external managers
Third-party institutions offer staff training and new asset class investments
Collateral posting spreads among swaps users
Following the Bank of England’s example, most derivatives users now have two-way CSAs
Some large reserve managers eschew liquidity stress tests
Majority of central banks test for thin trading, but three in 10 larger managers do not