Central Banking staff
Follow Central Banking
Articles by Central Banking staff
Trademark confusion influences US depositors, Fed paper finds
Federal Reserve Board researchers find a similar name to a failed bank decreases deposits
Monetary Policy Benchmarks 2024 Charts
Take a deep dive into the Monetary Policy Benchmarks charts, which have just been released for 2024.
- Benchmarking
Half of central banks regularly review monetary framework
Vast majority conduct reviews but many are ad hoc
Most asset purchase programmes are winding down
Around a quarter of respondents have open APPs but most are shrinking
- Benchmarking
Over 25% of central banks pre-brief government on policy decisions
Briefing patterns differ across institutions, as two central banks start practice
- Benchmarking
One-third of central banks offer liquidity to non-banks
But most keep the list of counterparties strictly limited
- Benchmarking
Four central banks commit to responsible artisanal gold principles
Colombia, Ecuador, Mongolia and the Philippines commit to principles aimed at guiding domestic small-scale, gold-buying schemes
Remittance fees unregulated in most jurisdictions despite high costs
But central banks identify opportunities in cross border payments integration
- Benchmarking
New York Fed paper argues for wage insurance
The programme would pay for itself and increase lifetime earnings, researchers say
Banks are main instant payments participants
Email address is central banks’ least-used payment channel
- Benchmarking
Two in five RTGS systems experienced outage last year
Majority of central banks plan technology upgrade within a year
- Benchmarking
Around two-fifths of central banks planning instant payments
Central banks processed instant transactions with average value of over $124 billion in 2023
- Benchmarking
Large central banks usually failed to quash inflation – Fed research
Soft landings are possible with early and parsimonious action, authors find
US citizens are unready for rainy days, research finds
Spending has increased from pre-pandemic trend level, Minneapolis Fed paper says
Most central banks resistant to crypto in retail payments
Just six central banks are open to retail payments being facilitated by digital assets like bitcoin
- Benchmarking
Majority of central banks increased payment system budget in 2023
Nearly half of central banks say resourcing is not sufficient
- Benchmarking
Average cost of running RTGS systems is $1.8 million
Annual costs slightly higher than last year’s benchmark
- Benchmarking
Most RTGS systems operate between seven and 12 hours daily
More than 40 institutions on average have direct access to infrastructure
- Benchmarking
Most central banks optimistic about tokenisation
Programmability, digital signatures and enhanced security are some purported benefits
- Benchmarking
Banknotes: April to June 2024
A round-up of news and salient issues that have affected central bankers in the past three months
People: April to June 2024
A round-up of central bankers in the news and on the move during the past three months
Slightly over half of payments teams outsource services to third parties
Contracting central banks provide information on attendant risks and precautionary measures
- Benchmarking
Payments staff strength averages close to 30 personnel
Employees in the Americas collect highest average annual salary
- Benchmarking
Fewer than half of central banks involved in pricing payments
But Asia-Pacific and African institutions are typically do engage in pricing
- Benchmarking