Europe
Strategic plans widely integrated into staff annual reviews
Staffing averages just under five persons in strategic planning units
US Basel equivalence questioned as EU patience wears thin
MEPs say unfaithful US implementation of Basel III could trigger review of access to EU markets
ECB removes need for governing council to approve CCP facility
New “automatic” facility will require safeguards that are “still being implemented”, bank says
Working group minutes: refining forecast models
Central bank economists discuss challenges of tackling errors and integrating new model features
Stress tests stronger in EU than in US – BdF research
Lenders remain well capitalised in both regions but European banks are more resilient, study finds
SNB introduces new liquidity provision framework
Reformed facility will be less “emergency” in nature and accept broader pool of collateral
Governing boards approve majority of strategic plans
Departmental heads widely assigned implementation duties
BoE plans to link system-wide and individual stress tests
Meanwhile, ECB wants to broaden system-wide stress models to include central counterparties
Six in 10 at ECB do not trust Lagarde – staff union survey
Survey shows frustration at career progression, employment uncertainty and HR over past decade
Regulation should be ‘smarter’, not ‘less’ – ECB’s Donnery
Financial resilience cannot be sacrificed under banner of simplification, senior supervisor says
Three in four central banks use dedicated strategic units
Units typically have a direct reporting line to the governor
Eurozone fiscal policies grew real GDP, dampened inflation – ECB
However, Covid-era policies led to higher deficits and debt in years following pandemic, research finds
Events are top channel for strategic plan communication
But over half of plans lack a framework for communication
BIS, ECB, BoE develop synchronised cross-border FX transactions
BIS says Project Meridian FX reduces liquidity, credit and settlement risk
Digital transformation and payments are major strategic goals
But few respondents prioritise AI or mandate changes
Knot becomes ‘cautious believer’ in euro internationalisation
DNB chief says EU’s institutions must be robust and its finances sustainable if it’s to attract investors
Strategic planning is ad hoc in 10% of central banks
Strategic plan-setting frequency averages 3.8 years across institutions
Hungary’s central bank publicly clashes with opposition leader
MNB says unnamed politician failed to comply with inquiry; Tisza head says he is target of smears
Danish krone becomes fully integrated into Target
National Bank of Denmark becomes first non-eurozone central bank to join Tips and T2 systems
Strategic plans tend to be built around six key pillars
Central banks split on whether planning is broad or narrow
EU firms fear dollar liquidity becoming tariff bargaining chip
Trade war escalation could affect ECB's access to Fed swap lines
Most central banks fund strategic plan delivery with standard budgets
Only two-fifths of jurisdictions have dedicated budget for strategic objectives
ECB makes quarter point cut amid ‘exceptional uncertainty’
Lagarde says anyone who thinks world is “shock-free” needs “their head examined”
Amid tariff turmoil, banks warned not to fudge IFRS 9 overlays
Flip-flopping US policies challenge loan loss provisioning models; EU regulators are watching closely