Central Banking Journal
Sama’s Al-Sayari on financial resilience and the future of the riyal
The Saudi Central Bank governor speaks with Christopher Jeffery about the Middle East conflict, the transformation of the Saudi economy, improving prudential oversight and contingency planning, and the development of the fintech and tokenised ecosystem
People: January to March 2026
A round-up of central bankers in the news and on the move during the past three months
Supply-side shock stuns central banks
The partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz raises fresh challenges for central bank policy-makers
Banknotes: January to March 2026
A round-up of news and salient issues that have affected central bankers in the past three months
Central Banking Awards 2026: the winners in full
Awards recognise extraordinary achievements in another challenging year for central banks
Lifetime achievement award: Mervyn King
The former BoE governor helped restore UK monetary policy credibility, played a central role during the global financial crisis, and has made significant contributions towards better bank oversight and economics
Digital currency initiative: eCurrency
eCurrency translates cultural context into CBDC design, informed by global experience
Financial market infrastructure – retail: ACI Worldwide
The payments company’s digital central infrastructure has played a key role in Colombia’s Bre-B roll-out as well as elsewhere
Financial services: Citi
The US bank has striven to provide clients with high-level advice as well as service breadth, technical expertise and execution
Currency manager: Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten
The central bank overcame a nine-year hiatus to launch the Caribbean guilder
Digital transformation award: Bank of Mexico
Banxico has replaced critical systems with ‘living’, adaptive, decentralised architecture
Central Banking Awards 2026: third group of winners
Awards unveiled for Central bank of the year, AI initiative, PMI development retail and wholesale, Initiative and more
Reserve management initiative: World Bank Group Treasury’s uninvested cash view dashboard
The multilateral body has harnessed customer data to provide central banks with insights about potential lost earnings linked to parked cash and overdrafts
Central bank of the year: Central Bank of Nigeria
A return to policy orthodoxy under new leadership at the African central bank helped to bring Nigeria’s economy back from the brink
Payment services: CMA Small Systems
The Swedish technology company has played a critical role in supporting payment upgrades
Initiative of the year: Reserve Bank of India
By mandating a domain name for the country’s lenders, the RBI has struck a blow against cyber fraud
Payments and market infrastructure development – wholesale: National Bank of Ethiopia
The East African central bank has implemented a major overhaul of Ethiopia’s core financial infrastructure