The Americas
Three-quarters of central banks exploring CBDCs for retail payments
Though research is common, only a few have moved to pilot or roll out the technology
Many central banks plan RTGS upgrades in coming year
Over 80% expect to renovate systems within five years
Communications Benchmarks 2022 – executive summary
Key findings of the 2022 report, including the ongoing shift to social media and the impact of Covid-19
US Senate reappoints Powell as Fed chair
Appointment comes as Powell’s approval rating in polls falls to lowest point in his career
Many central banks ‘layer’ news for different audiences
Techniques include use of differing language, visual and video presentation, and data release
US Senate confirms Lael Brainard as Fed vice-chair
Key senator absences create roadblock for Lisa Cook’s nomination
Canada proposes ban on foreign investors buying houses
Hot housing market is adding to domestic inflation’s record highs, but some are sceptical the ban will work
Every CBDC decision is a tradeoff, says Bank of Canada’s Shah
Privacy, security, and offline access present difficult problems
Payments and market infrastructure development – retail: Central Bank of Brazil’s Pix
The implementation of the Pix real-time payment system in Brazil was a runaway success in terms of payment activity, innovations and inclusion
Financial market infrastructure services: SIA
The Italian company impressed with its multi-year work on the ‘big-bang’ implementation of Canada’s new RTGS
Fed’s Bostic: uncertainty is hallmark of current economy
Atlanta Fed chief sees myriad forces pushing up inflation, but warns Fed may still tighten too fast
Problem of recruiting and retaining fintech talent persists
Salaries a key issue alongside skill set attainment
Economics Benchmarks 2021 report – making sense of the modern economy
Covid-19 coloured central banks’ views on the governance of their economics function in the past year, from research topics to forecasting, data, publications and more
Book notes: Shades of sovereignty, by Paul Wilson
An essential and stimulating read for central bankers thinking about the monetary history of their state in relation to its historical perspective and broad international trends
Currency Benchmarks 2021 report – executive summary
Perspectives on staffing, circulation, forecasting, note security and composition, outsourcing and more
Covid-19 causes bigger growth forecast errors
But central banks perform better at forecasting inflation
Economists tend to perform both policy and research duties
Only around a quarter of economics departments have a pure research function
Monetary Policy Benchmarks 2021 report – executive summary
Insights into the staff that work on monetary policy, decision-making, tools, transparency and market operations
Press conferences tend to be held for every monetary policy decision
The events can be a valuable tool for policy transparency and clarity
Asset purchase programmes prevalent among advanced economies
But just 17% of emerging market economies said they operate a purchase programme
Third parties often develop RTGS technology
Seventy-one percent of respondents said the technology underpinning their RTGS system was developed solely by a third party or in collaboration with the central bank
Most central banks communicate in at least two languages
Central banks must weigh challenge of translating sensitive messages against reach
Email top for internal central bank communications
In-house platforms, events and seminars also widely used
Monitoring tools critical to measuring comms effectiveness
Facebook and YouTube remain most popular social media options, but some central banks are experimenting with others