Central Banking Awards - Categories

•  Authority and integrity
• Fulfilment of mandate
•  Pioneering work and policy innovation

This award will recognise a central bank that has demonstrated significant resolve and authority in fulfilling its mandate. Particular attention will be paid to details of pioneering policy/organisational efforts and powerful communication supporting the central bank’s position.

• Integrity and resiliency
• Efficiency and effectiveness
• Technological innovation

This award will recognise a central bank that has played a key role in the implementation of best practice in payments, clearing, settlement or other financial market infrastructure. Judges will be looking to ensure the infrastructure meets a public need in a rigorous and cost-effective manner, likely harnessing new technology and/or approaches.

• Leadership and credibility
• Innovation and change management
• Problem solving and performance

This award will recognise the governor of a central bank who has demonstrated exceptionally strong leadership during the period under review. Judges will be looking for examples of actions, communication and, potentially, change management that have resulted in significant problems being surmounted.

• Safeguarding financial integrity
• Policy boldness
• Execution and impact

This award will recognise a specific effort to improve the functioning of a financial system to meet the public interest. This initiative could be related to deployment of macro-prudential tools, technology platforms and/or other regulatory/supervisory actions. The judges must be convinced this domestic or international initiative/s has had/will have a tangible effect to improve financial stability.

• Pioneering work
• Reshaping the central banking landscape
• Outstanding public service

Awarded to an exceptional leader, this award will recognise someone whose leadership in central banking and career in public service has left an indelible mark on the central banking community.

• Innovation
• Effectiveness
• Cyber hygiene

This award will acknowledge a central bank, regulator, supervisor or other official institution that has integrated machine learning tools and techniques into its day-to-day process in at least one area, such as forecasting, liquidity management, payments oversight, regulatory reporting, trading or fraud detection.

• Security and integrity
• Innovation and design flair
• Effectiveness and efficiency

This award will acknowledge a central bank that has made improvements to its currency management, for example by launching/upgrading a currency series, testing/launching a new digital currency, improving access to cash, making the currency cycle more efficient or implementing fraud prevention measures.

• Safety, liquidity, return
• Innovation
• Governance

The winner of this award will have shown excellence in reserve management at a central bank. This could include divisional changes, updated policy guidelines, an improved asset and liability framework or the deployment of innovative reserves strategies, such as investment in a new asset class/ instruments/ use of new benchmarks.

• Originality
• Clarity
• Relevance to policy-making

This award will be given to the author(s) of the speech, paper, report, presentation or other media that the judges believe makes a significant contribution to economics within the field of central banking. Evidence of an impact on policy-making at central banks will be an advantage.

• Communication across platforms
• Targeting full range of stakeholders
• Education

This award will recognise a central bank that has shown significant improvement and/or significant leadership in clear communication across its internal and external platforms. The winning organisation will have demonstrated strong improvements in transparency for the benefit of its stakeholders.

• Strategic focus
• Innovative approach
• Effectiveness and integrity

Getting digital transformation right can have significant productivity benefits. This award will recognise an official institution(s) that has made a significant strategic effort to safely introduce new digital practices or infrastructure at central banks or in the wider system that they oversee.

• Evidence of risk culture
• Risk management framework
• Improved operations

This award will recognise a central bank that has demonstrated excellence in risk management, where qualitative and quantitative risk assessments are made across areas such as credit, market, operational, cyber and reputational risk management throughout the organisation. The judges will be looking for evidence of how central bank activities have changed due to improved risk management.

• Impact
• Originality
• Integration with overall strategy

This award will recognise an exceptional communications initiative launched by a central bank to address specific needs. Judges will be looking for originality of the initiative as part of an integrated communications strategy, and evidence of its impact.

• Ambition and innovation
• Quality of stakeholder feedback
• New or improved capabilities 

The award will be given for a specific central bank initiative or policy that connects with stakeholders through innovative delivery and execution. Particular attention will be given to novel, impactful launches and the feedback received from the community.

• Innovative approach
• Robust technology
• Sound implementation

This award will recognise a partner provider that has offered exceptional services to a central bank(s) in the development of wholesale and/or retail central bank digital currencies, or in the tokenisation of assets relevant to the official sector community. The initiative does not necessarily need to be fully rolled out.

• Innovative technology
• Successful implementation
• Improved oversight

This award will recognise a technology company that has helped official institutions in their regulatory and supervisory responsibilities, potentially including assisting regulated entities to meet supervisory requirements. Provision of a case study plus client references will be a distinct advantage.

• Risk/return and liquidity suitability
• Diversification
• Knowledge transfer

This award will be given to an asset manager that has added value in managing the investment assets of central banks and other sovereign investors. While geographical reach and breadth of assets coverage are helpful, particular attention will be made to asset managers that have met the real needs of their clients during the period under review.

• Innovation
• Customer fulfilment
• Quality of service

Eligible initiatives could include the facilitation of digital tokens/ settlement, development of the tokenised government bond ecosystem, custodial service improvements, smooth asset transitions or 3rd party securities lending. Quality of service, customer fulfilment, innovation are considerations that will be assessed by the judges. A case study with an official institution client validation is highly desirable.

• Pioneering work
• Excellence in implementation
• Sound risk/return assessment

This award will be given to an institution that has pioneered innovation in foreign exchange reserve management, management of gold or other sovereign investment. The award could be given for a specific transaction or client portfolio transition, or for thought leadership that has effected change. The judges will be looking for a specific instance(s) of excellence and not necessarily the breadth of service offering.

• Customisation to client needs
• Change management
• Improved performance

Awarded to a governance, risk and/or controls services provider that has made a significant contribution to aiding the management of risk, the winner of this award may have paid particular attention to areas such as design and implementation, systems integration, tools and controls, models, governance and customer service.

• Robustness of platform
• Supporting market development
• Upgraded service

The award will be given to a financial market infrastructure provider that has made a significant contribution to improving efficiency and reducing risk in the financial system. Judges will be looking for a provider that offers a robust platform and technological innovation. A proven case study is highly desirable.

• Depth of knowledge
• Innovation and change
• Deliverability

This award will be given to an organisation that has offered advisory, consultancy and/or professional services to central banks that has resulted in substantial changes in behaviour at their clients. This could be in specific segments of activity tied to major transformations. Judges will be looking for at least one case example and validation from central banks.

• Efficiency and effectiveness
• Resilience
• Financial inclusion

This award is open to retail, corporate and wholesale payment service providers. It could cover, for example, payments services offered to central banks aimed at helping them with the creation of new national/international payment infrastructure or addressing issues related to cyber resiliency, AML and fraud detection.

• Tech forward
• Smooth implementation
• Platform robustness and security

The award will recognise a technology company that has helped central bank clients to address their ever-growing digitalisation and technological challenges. This covers all types of technologies, large or small. For example, it might be related to enterprise or specific business line systems or big data/cloud solutions, etc. A case study with official client verification is expected.

• Ambition and innovation
• Impact
• New or improved capabilities

The judges will be looking for a partner or service provider that has worked on a specific initiative with a central bank(s) to develop new and/or improved capabilities. The initiative could cover any aspect of central banking activities, involve excellent collaboration and have produced noteworthy results.  

• Innovative tech/ideas
• Problem-solving
• Improved cyber resilience

This award will recognise excellence in cyber security technology, advice and/or co-operation. Entrants must provide evidence of how their offering has improved the cyber resilience of a central bank, supervisor, regulator, or a sector over which they have oversight.