Commentary
Many central banks ‘layer’ news for different audiences
Techniques include use of differing language, visual and video presentation, and data release
Central bank comms staff earn $40,000 on average
Data shows wide disparity across institutions and income groups
Wide variation in comms staff numbers
Smallest communications team has just two members, and the largest over 100
Maintaining trust is top focus of comms teams
Benchmarking data sheds light on how central banks measure the effectiveness of communications
Most central banks are bilingual communicators
Only a handful communicate in three languages, but it is common to translate at least some documents
Media relations is biggest job for comms teams
But website, social media and internal comms also account for significant portions of time
Few central banks report funding problems
Only 10% of central banks say they lack adequate resources
Median bank has had four governors in past 20 years
Governor turnover probably does not reflect independence
Governors are rarely dismissed early
Most jurisdictions have the power to dismiss central bank governors, but rarely use it
Central banks usually transfer profits to governments
But many central bank respondents did not share profits in the last financial year
Minority of central banks worry over independence
Most central banks say law protects them, but some say changes are needed
Role of boards differs widely across central banks
All benchmark respondents have boards, but powers and responsibilities show great variety
More central banks have diversity and sustainability policies
But these policies remain less common than codes of ethics and whistleblower policies
Heads of state often play key role in governor appointments
Benchmark respondents say governors’ terms last four to seven years
Board sizes vary widely across central banks
Board terms average around five years and non-executive directors are common
Rich countries’ central banks less likely to manage sovereign debt
Practice is more common among middle and lower income countries, and in Africa and the Americas
Three-quarters of surveyed central banks answer to parliaments
Held accountable: benchmark responses on how central banks report on their activities
Governor salaries range as high as $1 million
Base pay tends to rise with GDP per capita, but there is wide variation, benchmark data shows
Majority of central banks do not issue fintech licences
Lower-middle income jurisdictions more likely to issue licences than richer nations
Many central banks have a fintech strategy
Over half of respondents have a dedicated fintech team
Privacy and security are greatest cloud concerns
New computing options and work practice flexibility top benefits
SQL, Python and R top requirements for data scientists
Other staff may perform similar data analysis tasks
Data quality and staff skills are greatest AI challenges – benchmark respondents
Privacy and algorithmic fairness are also concerns
Half of fintech benchmarks respondents use AI/ML tools
Richer nations more likely to use artificial intelligence