Articles by Central Banking staff
Fintech licences issued yearly remain below 10 on average
Number of fintechs in operation averages just over 60
Central banks keep trialling link between wCBDC and RTGS
Most respondents motivated to issue wCBDC to enable financial innovation
Majority of central banks still lack CBDC issuance powers
Legal mandates are scarce in both larger and smaller central banks
Two in five CBDCs designed to be programmable
Over half of respondents’ retail CBDC projects are at research phase
Some central banks expect CBDC to boost seigniorage
Result depends on design features of digital currency, with many central banks unsure of the outcome
Payment innovation is top fintech research priority
Recruitment and retention of talents is biggest tech challenge, but constraints vary somewhat by teams
Central banks facing fintech hiring challenges tend to have bigger teams
Private sector opportunity is most widely reported issue for fintech staffing
Risk Management Benchmarks 2026 – executive summary
Benchmarks include new data on op risk, as well as the risk outlook, monitoring tools and more
Vast majority of central banks taking action on climate risk
Nearly one in five banks reflect climate risk in reserves management and collateral eligibility
Risk management reviews are most common assessment method
Centralised teams are less likely to conduct external or management evaluations
Risk managers report increase in geopolitical and AI risks
But cyber incidents and security remain greatest risks for many central banks
UK’s Orange Book risk approach rarely used by central banks
Only three centralised risk management departments utilise principle
Risk Management Benchmarks 2026 Charts
Take a deep dive into the Risk Management Benchmarks charts, which have just been released for 2026.