Articles by Central Banking staff
Most reserve managers continue holding medium-term Treasuries
Central banks from Asia-Pacific and Europe increase US dollar asset holdings outside the US
Reserves Benchmarks 2025 Charts
Take a deep dive into the Reserves Benchmarks charts, which have just been released for 2025.
Reserve managers name top bank counterparties and asset managers
Citi receives most votes as banker to reserve managers and World Bank is top asset manager
World Bank Ramp membership stronger among smaller teams
Share of central banks participating in network rises year on year
Central banks on average intervened in FX markets 21 times in past year
Minority of respondents expanded access to swap lines
Majority of reserve management strategies unchanged by US tariffs
Some central banks have changed duration or currencies, but for most, business remains as usual
Central banks modestly increased duration in past year
Some changed duration due to tariff impact, but not all in the same direction
Securities lending banks engage external managers for new assets
Allocation to third parties rises year on year to 15.6% on average
Investment remains largest tranche of most FX reserves
Asset-screening central banks more likely to operate other tranches
Smaller reserve holders rarely lend securities or conduct stress tests
CVAR remains widely used risk management technique
Islamic finance suited for green investments – BNM governor
Abdul Rasheed says sharia-compliant vehicles offer “ready-made infrastructure for risk-sharing”
China and Indonesia expand cross-border settlement links
Central banks also announce QR-based pilot for payments in local currencies