Winners of the Central Banking Awards 2026 – Second Announcement

For immediate release: 10:00, March 12, 2026

Central Banking is pleased to announce the second tranche of winners of the Central Banking Awards 2026, its 13th annual industry awards recognising excellence in the central banking community. Winners include the Bank of England, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bruno Tiberto, Oliver Wyman, Regnology and Vermeg. #CentralBankingAwards2026

Drawing on 36 years of independent and informed reporting, analysis, benchmarking and comment, the Central Banking Awards were judged by a panel made up of members of the Central Banking Editorial Team and Editorial Advisory Board.

A brief description follows, detailing the rationale for giving the awards as well as reaction comments from the Governors of the Bank of England , the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Central Bank of Brazil, the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Global Chair of Government and Public Institutions Practice at Oliver Wyman, the Chief Product Officer of Regnology and the Capital Markets Europe & UK General Manager at Vermeg.

Transparency award: Bank of England

The BoE has demonstrated a commitment to transparency by moving out of its ‘comfort zone’ with targeted efforts towards market counterparties, on the one hand, and Gen Z citizens, on the other. It has adopted legal entity identifiers (LEIs) into the Clearing House Automated Payment System (Chaps) for wholesale payments, and collaborated with a large digital media network to boost awareness of the central bank among 18–24-year-olds.

Andrew Bailey, Governor, Bank of England, said:

“From facilitating payments to engaging with younger audiences, the Bank of England is committed to transparency in every corner of the organisation. We’re delighted to have these efforts recognised with this award.”

Christopher Jeffery, Chairman, Central Banking Awards Committee, said:

“The move to include LEIs in the high-value Chaps clearing system has improved payments transparency and addressed past issues, while the youth-oriented communications campaign has significantly improved awareness of the BoE among one of its key target age demographics.”

Communications initiative: Hong Kong Monetary Authority

The HKMA had produced a novel and engaging, multi-platform communications strategy to combat a pervasive and highly harmful threat financial scams. Recognising the need to cut through the noise on financial fraud, the HKMA took the unconventional step of involving its chief executive and having deputy chief executive Arthur Yuen star in a music video alongside Cantonese-pop veteran Wan Kwong. The campaign also cleverly leveraged a Cantonese pun to create a memorable ‘despicable banana’ character – seemingly harmless on the outside, but with a sinister nature hiding beneath the surface, like the methods used by fraudsters to target Hong Kongers.

Eddie Yue, Chief Executive, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, said:

“When it comes to educating the public against scams, we have to work against scammers who are getting smarter and more cunning day by day.  Bold and innovative campaigns that resonate with various segments of the population are needed to stay ahead of evolving threats. We benefit immensely from the global regulatory community through collaboration and experience-sharing. Financial scams are without border. We hope that by working together, we can foster a financially resilient public in different parts of the world.”

Christopher Jeffery, Chairman, Central Banking Awards Committee, said:

“With over 7.7 million video views and 228 million impressions, the HKMA’s communications effort successfully blended humour with serious messaging, contributing to a measurable drop in scam losses and highlighting the importance of creativity in central bank communications.”

Financial stability initiative: Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina has adopted a holistic approach to tackling the root causes of instability and taken early action to mitigate the risks. This includes engagement on a range of initiatives relating to instant payments, cyber security, ESG standards, gender inclusivity and currency reform.

Jasmina Selimović, Governor, Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina, said:

“It’s an honour and privilege to be awarded by Central Banking considering the key mandate of CBBH. We push the limits and through strengthening of our payment system, cyber resilience, gender inclusivity and other structural reforms we continue to reinforce institutional resilience and support economic growth of Bosnia and Herzegovina, even within a complex operating environment. This achievement reflects dedication and the professionalism of the entire CBBH staff.”

Christopher Jeffery, Chairman, Central Banking Awards Committee, said:

“Significant progress was made on all fronts in the face of the country’s highly challenging institutional set-up. This central bank has harnessed its credibility to push through projects that have collectively improved financial stability.”

Economics in central banking: Bruno Tiberto

Bruno Tiberto, an economist at the Central Bank of Brazil (BCB), has authored an important paper showing how central bank independence can alleviate the negative effects of inflation on poverty and inequality. The paper, published in the Journal of International Money and Finance in December 2025, has provided influential empirical support to the ongoing legislative efforts to grant more autonomy to the BCB.

Gabriel Galípolo, Governor, Central Bank of Brazil, said:

“Bruno’s paper offers valuable guidance for Brazil’s ongoing institutional evolution. It demonstrates, through robust empirical evidence, that greater central bank independence enhances price stability and protects the most vulnerable from the harmful effects of inflation. These are lessons deeply rooted in Brazil’s long inflationary history – lessons we work tirelessly to ensure remain in the history books rather than our economic reality.”

Christopher Jeffery, Chairman, Central Banking Awards Committee, said:

“This work has proven influential as part of the ongoing debate about the financial independence of the Central Bank of Brazil, emphasising that Brazil could achieve greater benefits if it strengthens the BCB’s autonomy.”

Advisory services: Oliver Wyman

Oliver Wyman has built an impressive book of central banking business in recent years, notably its crisis management work related to projects aimed at restoring trust in the Iraqi banking system, as well as wargaming cross-border crisis scenarios with groups of central banks.

Davide Taliente, Global Chair, Government and Public Institutions Practice, Oliver Wyman, said:

“We are honoured to be recognised for serving centuries-old institutions that contribute to economic prosperity by safeguarding the financial system and sustaining public trust in money. A fundamental re-think is required as market innovation and politics continue to challenge orthodoxy and governance.”

Christopher Jeffery, Chairman, Central Banking Awards Committee, said:

“Oliver Wyman combines partners who bring specialist knowledge of central banking with large numbers of more junior staff who can carry out detailed research, delivering gains for clients – some of them small teams tasked with huge challenges.”

Regtech/suptech services: Regnology

Regnology’s Supervisory Hub offers a modular, cloud-native architecture. Its delivery of end-to-end automation, near real-time supervision, EU data residency and lower operational costs has enabled regulators to streamline national and cross-border reporting and scale for future AI and data needs. The product notably offers data sovereignty and essential upgrades, with its secure public cloud option debuted by the Andorran Financial Authority.

Linda Middleditch, Chief Product Officer, Regnology, said:

“Partnering with over 100 regulators worldwide gives us unique insights to reimagine supervision. This highly-valued award validates the strength of the Regnology Supervisory Hub in advancing risk-based supervision and data-driven oversight, shaping regulatory practices for the future. We thank Central Banking for this recognition and our clients for their trust in this shared journey.”

Christopher Jeffery, Chairman, Central Banking Awards Committee, said:

“Regnology’s cloud-native RSH has provided a scalable backbone to the AFA with standardised metadata modelling, multilingual reporting and seamless interoperability, materially improving efficiency, risk-based supervision and cross-border data flows.”

Technology services: Vermeg

Vermeg’s Megara has emerged as the engine behind Europe’s landmark collateral ecosystem. The new system, the Eurosystem Collateral Management System, has unified more than 20 national systems that all used to have their own procedures and interfaces.

Khaled Ben Abdeljelil, Capital Markets Europe & UK General Manager, Vermeg, said:

“We’re proud to receive Central Banking’s Technology Services Award for the second consecutive year. This recognition reaffirms the market’s trust in Vermeg as the leading provider of systemically important IT solutions supporting central banks worldwide.”

Christopher Jeffery, Chairman, Central Banking Awards Committee, said:

“Through the ECMS, Vermeg has delivered a single, harmonised, real-time infrastructure capable of supporting monetary policy operations and secure market activity across all participating countries.”

Notes to Editors 

1. Media copies of the citing articles are also available. Please contact  Christopher Jeffery at: chris.jeffery@centralbanking.com or + 44 (0) 20 7316 9509; or Daniel Hinge at: daniel.hinge@centralbanking.com or + 44 (0) 20 7316 9054.
2. Please click the following links to view the Central Banking Awards 2026, Central Banking Awards 2025, Central Banking Awards 2024, Central Banking Awards 2023, Central Banking Awards 2022, Central Banking Awards 2021, Central Banking Awards 2020, Central Banking Awards 2019, Central Banking Awards 2018, Central Banking Awards 2017, Central Banking Awards 2016, Central Banking Awards 2015 and Central Banking Awards 2014.
3. Since its foundation in 1990, Central Banking journal has been the only regular, independent publication for and about central banks. It is supported by an Editorial Advisory Board that includes the former governors of many of the world’s leading central banks, as well as Nobel Prize-winning economists.
4. Central Banking is read by subscribers in more than 145 countries.
5. Central Banking operates the Central Banking Institute, a membership club for central banks comprising Benchmarking, Insight and Professional Development.