Commentary
Reserve assets still rarely screened on ESG grounds
Bonds and equity indexes remain widely favoured for benchmarking
Ten central banks diversify portfolios with new asset classes
Institutions introduce green bonds and others into their reserve holdings
Asia-Pacific has highest assessing reserve adequacy metric
Ratios broadly higher among middle income central banks
Countries with high import coverage invest more in non-SDR debt
Breakdown of asset allocations shows Europe holds nearly half of world’s ESG-focused bonds
Portfolio managers make up largest share of reserve teams
Staff average annual earnings hover around $30,000 level
Cyber crime is central banks’ top financial instability risk
Upper-middle income countries more likely to be wary of foreign exchange crisis
Supra-national stress tests less common in middle income countries
Most central banks conduct stress tests of banks more than once a year
Majority of central banks carry out cyber defence exercises
Respondents suggest ways to improve exercises’ effectiveness in building up resilience
Cyber attacks increased in most countries over past two years
Central banks want cyber experts, awareness campaigns and collaborations to mitigate risks
Central banks say co-operation on AML/CFT effective
But some still want improved data sharing, surveillance and relationships
Rising AML/CFT risks reported in 40% of jurisdictions
But majority of central banks empowered and well equipped to mitigate risks
Non-banks generally seen as lesser threat than banks
Central banks much more likely to want new tools to tackle risks in the banking sector
Authorities resolved median of one bank over past decade
Central banks suggest measures for resolving failed banks
Three in five central banks seek improved banking regulations
Basel III reforms, liquidity controls, capital adequacy, others dominate list of concerns
Reserve requirement remains leading macro-pru policy
High income countries favour caps on loan-to-value ratios
Most central banks have macro-pru mandates
Nine institutions seek more macro-pru tools
Financial stability budget increases in most central banks
But resources less likely to be sufficient in Africa and lower-middle income institutions
Two in five financial stability divisions have staff shortage
FTE employees average under 30 workers across responding institutions
Quarter of central banks use tiered reserves remuneration
Corridor systems remain most common method of setting short-term interest rate
Minutes released with greatest lag in lower-middle income countries
Blackout period lasts seven days in most central banks
Money-supply targetters account for lowest frequency of policy meetings
Upper-middle income central banks set policy and publish reports at highest frequency
Middle income monetary policy staff salaries fall behind peers
Officials in Europe and Africa tend to earn highest average annual income
MPCs largest in inflation-targeting central banks
Government reps attend meetings in two-thirds of jurisdictions with other regimes
Monetary policy budget averages under $2 million annually
Budgets larger in high income, upper-middle income central banks