Articles by Central Banking staff
Social media is top channel for two-way communication
Central banks use a variety of options to let the public give feedback and ask questions
Monitoring tools critical to measuring comms effectiveness
Facebook and YouTube remain most popular social media options, but some central banks are experimenting with others
Inflation reports more frequent than financial stability reports
Clear majority of central banks also use ‘layering’ in key publications
Central banks leverage multimedia communication channels
Around a third have added podcasts, mobile apps and blogs to their comms repertoire
Comms team salaries similar across high and middle income countries
Employees earn on average around $33,000, according to data from 15 central banks
Vast majority of central banks provide communications training
Social media, writing skills and public speaking emerged as key areas
Academics miss out on central bank background briefings
After journalists, private sector analysts are offered briefings most often
Communications often involved at early stages of central bank policy
Most central banks say comms teams are involved in early planning stage of policy decisions
Fintech communication is most challenging for central banks
Central banks view fintech as greatest challenge, but rate monetary policy communication highly
The Central Banking Awards 2021 virtual ceremony
View the trophy presentations, acceptance comments and future predictions from the winners of the eighth annual Central Banking Awards
Many central banks have formal safeguards over firing governors
Benchmark respondents give details of how governors are appointed and dismissed
Boards or committees tend to set monetary policy
Some central banks set the same monetary policies as part of supra-national institutions
Governments often play role in appointing boards
Boards often mix government members, central bank officials and non-execs
Formal strategy committees remain relatively rare
Boards of directors are widely used but specialist oversight committees are less common
Central bank mandates differ between advanced and emerging economies
Governance Benchmark 2021 data shows emerging economy central banks more likely to have financial stability mandate
Central banks take different routes to financial stability
Some give ultimate authority to governors but others use committees
Governor salaries 12 times higher than GNI per capita
Salaries ranged between $33,101 and $723,551
RBI pays out second-largest dividend
Indian central bank orders $13.6 billion payment to government
Bank of Canada voices concern over house prices
Financial regulator imposes minimum rate on new uninsured mortgages
Few central banks have diversity or sustainability policies
Eight in 10 have a whistleblower policy
Governors can serve 25+ years at 40% of central banks
Governors in high and upper-middle central banks have longest possible tenures
Governors at four in five central banks left before their term ended
Countries with highest governor turnover were experiencing political instability
Most central banks accountable to legislature
Chains of accountability vary and there does not appear to be one ‘gold standard’