Africa
Central banks keep trialling link between wCBDC and RTGS
Most respondents motivated to issue wCBDC to enable financial innovation
Egypt cuts rates by 100bp and lowers reserve requirements
Central bank continues to reverse tight monetary policy stance as inflation gradually declines
Majority of central banks still lack CBDC issuance powers
Legal mandates are scarce in both larger and smaller central banks
People: Change at the top in South Sudan
Plus new appointments in Austria, Romania and at the ECB
Nigeria opens up official dollar market to bureaux de change
Move aims to strengthen retail FX liquidity and close spreads with exchange rate in informal economy
Two in five CBDCs designed to be programmable
Over half of respondents’ retail CBDC projects are at research phase
Zambia cuts rates by 75bp to 13.5%
Inflation expected to fall to within target range by next quarter, central bank governor says
Working group minutes: strategic planning structures
Central banks are adapting their strategic planning functions and adopting digital tools
Kenya warns against ‘cash flower bouquets’
Floral-style gifts made of glued-together banknotes disrupt ATMs and are illegal, says central bank
Nigeria’s central bank publishes first fintech report
Inaugural edition focuses on how current regulatory frameworks impact innovation
South African central bank holds rates in split decision
Sarb stays cautious as country continues to adjust towards new 3% inflation target
Bank of Ghana slashes rates by 250bp
Institution says fiscal consolidation and plummeting inflation justified additional easing
People: President’s nephew confirmed as BI deputy governor
Plus new governor in Malawi and Croatia’s vice-governor to become minister
Vast majority of central banks taking action on climate risk
Nearly one in five banks reflect climate risk in reserves management and collateral eligibility
Risk management reviews are most common assessment method
Centralised teams are less likely to conduct external or management evaluations
UK’s Orange Book risk approach rarely used by central banks
Only three centralised risk management departments utilise principle
Staff error is largest cause of op risk at central banks
Legacy systems tend to trigger most threats in jurisdictions with greater than average number of incidents
Op risk incidents average over 100 a year among central banks
Financial impact is risk managers’ strongest metric for gauging incidents’ severity
Phishing and ransomware are central banks’ main cyber threats
Teams widely use training, monitoring and privilege management to mitigate cyber threats
Just under half of risk departments are sufficiently staffed
Units with satisfied staffing levels earn below global average annual salary
Mitigation and reporting are leading components of risk strategy
Decentralised teams more likely to embed philosophy in divisional decision-making
Most centralised risk teams prioritise cyber security
Decentralised teams primarily cover credit and counterparty, op and market risks
Risk policies widely reviewed by committee in larger teams
Central banks with larger teams favour risk committees over CROs
Algeria sacks central bank governor
Taleb replaced by erstwhile deputy on an interim basis, country’s president announces