Europe
Majority of central banks increased payment system budget in 2023
Nearly half of central banks say resourcing is not sufficient
ECB cuts policy rate by 25 basis points
Strong eurozone wage growth rules out commitment to further cuts, says governing council
Average cost of running RTGS systems is $1.8 million
Annual costs slightly higher than last year’s benchmark
Most RTGS systems operate between seven and 12 hours daily
More than 40 institutions on average have direct access to infrastructure
BdF paper looks at what new global currency would need
Unified debt market would go “some way” to internationalising the euro
Most central banks optimistic about tokenisation
Programmability, digital signatures and enhanced security are some purported benefits
Slightly over half of payments teams outsource services to third parties
Contracting central banks provide information on attendant risks and precautionary measures
Payments staff strength averages close to 30 personnel
Employees in the Americas collect highest average annual salary
Twenty years on, Visegrád states are converging to rest of the EU
Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia have undergone economic transformation, CNB finds
Fewer than half of central banks involved in pricing payments
But Asia-Pacific and African institutions are typically do engage in pricing
QE should stabilise rather than stimulate – ECB’s Schnabel
Asset purchases have become conventional, but central banks should exercise caution
Over a third of central banks say retail payments are diversifying
Americas and Asia-Pacific tend to report diversification, as tech and regulation drives change
ECB is ready to cut rates, chief economist says
Next steps in ECB’s easing cycle will be “bumpy” and “gradual”, says Philip Lane
Over half of central banks have payments oversight powers
Networks and international remittance supervision only covered in a few jurisdictions
Risks facing central banks: action and inaction
Unlike Fed policy in the 1990s, central bank actions this century do not appear overly accommodative, given poor policy decisions elsewhere, writes Andrew Smithers
Getting Chiang Mai right
Asia’s emergency infrastructure is on the right track, but there is still room for improvement
ECB paper recommends central fiscal instrument
Governments’ ability to delay fiscal consolidation should be limited, researchers argue
ECB paper uses RCT data on inflation expectations
Consumers’ level of attention is determined by economic environment, research finds
Cecilia Skingsley on monetary policy tech and a unified ledger
Head of the BIS Innovation Hub speaks about tokenisation, CBDCs and the ‘black box problem’ in AI
Paper finds link between housing costs and inflation expectations
Housing inflation expectations exceed other measures – National Bank of Belgium research
G7 may use Russian asset profits to fund Ukraine
US asks European governments to agree money should back $50 billion loan
Eurosystem completes first DLT experiment
Austrian central bank settled “mock transaction” on distributed ledger technology
Data ‘does not warrant’ July cut by ECB, Schnabel says
Eurozone inflation risks remain tilted to the upside, ECB board member warns
Credit rating agency failures continue despite EU reforms, paper finds
Bond issuers are still “shopping” for good ratings, ECB paper says