Europe
Sweden moves to improve liquidity provision in resolution
Riksbank and debt office develop “joint approach” to clarify how lenders can source liquidity in crisis
Number of non-banks with RTGS access rises year on year
Middle income central banks account for largest number of connections
Reflections on the international financial situation
Former IMF head Jacques de Larosière writes that markets are blind to Trump's policy shocks that are fragmenting the monetary ‘system’, causing strain in the eurozone and may result in stagflation
Croatia and Montenegro to begin cash swap programme
Central banks sign MoU to exchange damaged euro notes from Montenegro for undamaged ones from Croatia
Half of retail payment sectors saw diversification last year
Changes include regulations, technology and rate of participation
Slovak court convicts central bank governor of bribery
Kažimír must pay €200,000 or face prison for having paid an official to expedite VAT refunds
European central banks taking more active role in cash cycle
Roundtable hears how fears over moral hazard are being set against need to preserve cash infrastructure
Two-fifths of central banks leave payment fees unregulated
Middle income institutions more likely to regulate prices than other respondents
Banks should better balance liquidity among themselves – Riksbank
US fiscal position also places “serious questions” over dollar’s role as reserve currency, bank says
BIS’s Restoy sees scope for improvement in EU regulations
FSI chair backs review of whether current framework imposes excessive compliance costs on banks
Larger teams more likely to oversee payments networks
Most central banks have general mandate to safeguard all payment systems
Lagarde calls for euro to take on global role
ECB president says EU can be bulwark of stability amid increasing economic upheaval
Quarter of payments departments report resourcing issues
Average number of FTE employees increases year on year to 40
Trends in reserve management 2025: survey results
Insights on strategies in anticipation of tariffs, interest rate divergence and geopolitical risk, FX diversification and de-dollarisation, as well as bitcoin in reserves, FX interventions and gold
Auditors need to make friends and influence people – DNB official
Olaf Sleijpen says central banks’ internal referees need to improve their comms and people skills
Russia’s neighbours work to enable digital offline payments
Central banks in Nordic and Baltic countries prepare back-up plans in event of major internet outages
IMF officials call for central clearing of sovereign bonds
“More work needed” to enhance structural resilience in core markets, researchers say
Maurice Obstfeld on the trade war’s damage to the monetary system
The former IMF chief economist speaks about Trump’s chaotic economic policies, the erosion of Fed independence and dollar stability, difficult policy trade-offs for central banks, and the threat to the Bretton Woods institutions
ECB says tariff shocks ‘continue to reverberate’
Stability review says risk of slowdown has “increased markedly”, though banks are better placed than in 2008
Mr Bessent goes to Basel: the fate of global bank regulation
US resistance to international standards could spark greater fragmentation of prudential rules
Climate stress tests should involve industry – BdF official
Bottom-up approach enables banks and insurers to capture environmental risks, says Laurent Clerc
Banks should ‘regularly’ assess clients’ exposure to tariffs – ECB
Rising trade tensions threaten financial stability, bank’s economists say
Riksbank: everyone should be able to pay in cash
Bank welcomes government report calling for payments in physical currency to be facilitated
Knot calls for more diversity in financial institutions
DNB head says challenges demand “diverse perspectives” as bank aims for full gender balance by 2028