Commentary
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
Problem of recruiting and retaining fintech talent persists
Salaries a key issue alongside skill set attainment
Cyber security rises as fintech research priority
Suptech overtakes regtech
Sandbox popularity rises at central banks
Trend looks set to continue
Machine learning and NLP top regtech tools
Micro-prudential reporting and risk assessment are main regtech applications
Efficient data reporting is main suptech driver
Resource constraints are the biggest challenge in developing a suptech strategy
Majority of central banks lack legal authority to issue CBDC
Technical CBDC design has legal implications
Payments efficiency is driving force behind many CBDCs
Inclusion, financial stability and monetary policy are also leading factors
Two-thirds of central banks have a centralised risk unit
Central banks with a centralised risk unit tend to use KRIs