Feature
Global markets award: BNP Paribas
The bank shone across a wide range of business areas and regions during the turbulence of Covid-19
Green initiative: Bank of England
UK central bank breaks path for others by disclosing climate-related risk across all operations
Reserve manager of the year: Bank Indonesia
The Asian central bank stabilised the rupiah’s fall during the Covid-19 pandemic in large part due to its new macro-factor strategic asset allocation framework
Governor of the year: Alejandro Díaz de León
Díaz de León has upheld the authority, integrity and independence of the Bank of Mexico against significant external and internal pressures
Innovation in reserve management: World Bank Treasury/ANZ Bank
The pair developed a Swift-based messaging app to manage faster and safer cash operations for central bank members of Ramp at the height of the pandemic
Asset manager: BNP Paribas Asset Management
The European asset manager has leveraged its focus on official institutions, expertise in MBS, training, reporting and ESG compliance to grow its business with central banks
Climate portfolio services: RepRisk
The Swiss company’s machine learning tool checks reports on 160,000 companies daily from a host of sources in 20 languages to offer central banks and SWFs early warnings on climate-related risks
Climate initiative: HSBC
The UK bank is working closely with central banks and other official institutions to support the transition towards a greener global system
The Covid crisis, central banks and the future
Crisis responses have had positive initial outcomes, but also exacerbated significant underlying challenges that raise concerns related to exit strategies and the future for central banks
The role of Tips for the future payments landscape
Tips could support euro CBDC plus cross-border payments in many currencies
Is the integrity of Afghanistan’s central bank under threat?
Acting governor fires key staff and is accused of undoing reforms, while World Bank appears ready to suspend funds; administration and other donors show few signs of learning from Kabul Bank scandal
Monetary unions in the making in Africa
EAC, Ecowas and SADC can adopt practical steps learned from EMU to prepare for their own currency unions
Is the RBI doomed to fail its ‘quest for financial stability’?
Covid-19 has set back progress on hard-won reforms. As the economy struggles to recover, the RBI and government must walk a treacherous path back to safety
Lessons from the Riksbank’s negative rates experiment
Sweden is the only nation to have implemented negative rates and then returned them to ‘normal’ territory. What can central bankers learn from the Swedish experience?
The world’s first retail CBDC tiptoes into existence
The Bahamas’ e-solutions manager Bobby Chen speaks about how Covid-19 brought forward the nationwide launch of the ‘sand dollar’, and how limits and wallet types are affecting usage
The ultimate store of value
Róbert Rékási, head of foreign exchange reserves management at the Central Bank of Hungary, speaks to Central Banking’s Victor Mendez-Barreira about how Covid-19 has changed gold investment trends
How can central banks secure the future of money?
Central banks should start tackling the accounting, legal and policy challenges related to CBDC. This work will shape the future of money, as could be witnessed in Albania
Has Covid-19 made gold shine brighter?
The price of gold has skyrocketed this year, but central banks have not flocked to invest as they have done in the past, write Rachael King and Victor Mendez‑Barreira.
Gold reserves in central banks – 2020 survey results
Reserve managers share their views on future gold holdings, target allocations, purchasing and storage approaches, the use of ETFs, and the impact of Covid-19, in the results of a new joint Central Banking-Invesco survey. By Nick Carver and Robert Pringle
The eurozone’s eastern conundrum
Bulgaria and Croatia expect a net positive effect as they take final steps to join the euro, while the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland remain reluctant
Covid-19 policy-making and the need for high-speed data
High-frequency data holds the promise of speed and adaptability, but the rush to find alternative economic indicators has the potential to create problems
Computing platforms for big data and AI
Implementing big-data and high-performance computing platforms is critical to support machine learning applications. Rafael Schmidt and Bruno Tissot offer insights on developing a comprehensive information strategy
The evolving role of central bank money in payments
The line between commercial and central bank money continues to blur, but the multiple-issuer/one-currency paradigm underpinning the current monetary system is set to remain in a CBDC world, write Ulrich Bindseil and Ignacio Terol
Coronavirus panic fuels a surge in cash demand
Covid-19 has led to banknote hoarding in Australia, Brazil, Canada, the eurozone, Russia and the US, fuelled by concerns about financial system stress, write Jonathan Ashworth and Charles Goodhart