Articles by Central Banking staff
Handful of central banks expanded swap lines in past year
Vast majority of swap lines offer US dollar liquidity
One in 10 central banks uses FX swaps to defend currency
Interventions were relatively common in past year, suggesting greater activity in spot market
Middle income countries form largest membership of World Bank Ramp
Central banks highlight market intel, support, training as partnership gains
Half of middle income central banks intervened in FX markets in 2023
Liquidity tranches form largest part of reserves in lower-middle income countries
Risk departments propose benchmarks at most central banks
Investment committees increasingly empowered to approve reserve benchmarks
Most high income central banks engage in securities lending
But liquidity stress-testing tends to be common practice across middle income institutions
Large reserve holders use external managers for intel and new assets
Staff training trumps new asset class adoption as overall goal for third parties’ engagement
Asset delegation to external managers averages just 12%
One in 10 central banks considering reviews of allocations to external managers
Central banks split over impact of US sanctions on dollar reserves
De-dollarisation, if it happens, will be very slow, central banks say
Reserve assets still rarely screened on ESG grounds
Bonds and equity indexes remain widely favoured for benchmarking
Ten central banks diversify portfolios with new asset classes
Institutions introduce green bonds and others into their reserve holdings
Reserves Benchmarks 2024 Charts
Take a deep dive into the Reserves Benchmarks charts, which have just been released for 2024.
Asia-Pacific has highest assessing reserve adequacy metric
Ratios broadly higher among middle income central banks
Countries with high import coverage invest more in non-SDR debt
Breakdown of asset allocations shows Europe holds nearly half of world’s ESG-focused bonds
Portfolio managers make up largest share of reserve teams
Staff average annual earnings hover around $30,000 level
Banknotes: July to September 2024
A round-up of news and salient issues that have affected central bankers in the past three months
People: July to September 2024
A round-up of central bankers in the news and on the move during the past three months
Cyber crime is central banks’ top financial instability risk
Upper-middle income countries more likely to be wary of foreign exchange crisis
Supra-national stress tests less common in middle income countries
Most central banks conduct stress tests of banks more than once a year
Majority of central banks carry out cyber defence exercises
Respondents suggest ways to improve exercises’ effectiveness in building up resilience
Cyber attacks increased in most countries over past two years
Central banks want cyber experts, awareness campaigns and collaborations to mitigate risks
Central banks say co-operation on AML/CFT effective
But some still want improved data sharing, surveillance and relationships
Rising AML/CFT risks reported in 40% of jurisdictions
But majority of central banks empowered and well equipped to mitigate risks
Non-banks generally seen as lesser threat than banks
Central banks much more likely to want new tools to tackle risks in the banking sector