Commentary
Most monetary policy units sufficiently resourced
Macroeconomic analysis and research duties are officials’ top functions
Monetary policy staff annual pay rises year on year
Divisional budget averages less than $10 million a year
Middle income monetary policy teams comprise more junior staff
Monetary policy FTE employees average nearly 40 individuals across central banks
Scenario analysis widely used to assess risk but communication varies
Most central banks produce multiple forecasts to illustrate monetary policy risks, but less than half publish them
Most reserve managers continue holding medium-term Treasuries
Central banks from Asia-Pacific and Europe increase US dollar asset holdings outside the US
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
Reserve managers typically do not employ negative screening
Central banks with short-term import coverage more likely to utilise tool
Many managers assess reserves with benchmarks and other approaches
Central bank board remains top body granting approval for reserve benchmarking
European central banks shift reserves from US Treasuries to euro assets
US Treasuries still make up largest share of respondents’ reserves globally
Two in five large reserves holders reduce dollar allocations
Yet central banks’ FX holdings remain broadly denominated in US currency
Reserve managers widely satisfied with staff strength and resources
Large reserve management teams tend to earn higher salaries
Neutral counter-cyclical capital buffer averages less than 1%
But average neutral level of CCyB varies by economic groupings
Six central banks report increase in AML/CFT risks
Nine in 10 institutions indicate having sufficient powers to deal with risks
Central banks see cyber attacks as key financial stability risk
Respondents also reveal other elevated risks, including geopolitics and tariffs
Cyber attacks rise in three-fifths of jurisdictions
Central banks lacking incident response team report highest rate of attacks
Majority of central banks have analysed effects of tariffs
Spike in levies seen as having varying degrees of impact on financial stability
Only 30% of central banks conduct non-bank stress-testing
Exercise tends to be less common in institutions with smaller financial stability teams