International
New Isda ‘fallbacks’ critical to making Libor transition a ‘non-event’
New protocol and supplement offer a transition away from Libor rates in 2021, despite CFTC saying 2,400 companies still exposed and Fed extending some US libor contracts until mid-2023
Monetary unions in the making in Africa
EAC, Ecowas and SADC can adopt practical steps learned from EMU to prepare for their own currency unions
CBDC could give consumers power over their data – paper
Mere existence of CBDC could discipline data-hungry payments firms, authors say
Central banks rotate economics staff frequently
Economists typically spend only small portion of time on own research; opportunities for secondment abound
Most authorities failed to build up buffers before Covid hit – Carstens
Supervisors face more problems once emergency support measures are withdrawn, says BIS chief
Fed joining NGFS would be a ‘game changer’ – Després
NGFS to increase study of monetary policy’s climate implications, head of secretariat says
Advanced economies employ greater share of PhD economists
But both advanced- and emerging-economy central banks devote similar staffing to research
The long-term impact of Covid-19 on banknote demand
The coronavirus pandemic has challenged cash usage assumptions at a time when central banks make only limited use of longer-term forecasts
ECB is caught in a ‘communications trap’ – Issing
Monetary policy architect says ‘close to’ 2% inflation target was never part of original plan; urges ECB to reject Fed-like average inflation targeting
Central banks play key role in sourcing and sharing data
Institutions gather data from many sources and most share it with external researchers
Could AI ever replace human bank supervisors?
Data collection and processing remains key in leveraging artificial intelligence
BIS warns of gap between cautious banks and buoyant markets
Report says exuberant market conditions may belie underlying risks
Agent-based models remain rare among economics departments
Economics Benchmarks 2020 highlights the varied applications of different model types at central banks
Centralisation key to digitising central banks – ECB conference
Bank of Italy studies use of machine learning to boost supervisory capabilities
BIS paper explores reasons for large gold reserves
Researcher says large holdings can be justified, but only for some purposes
Central banks tend to mix research with policy functions
Institutions deploy a wide range of different governance frameworks when it comes to research
Semi-structural models are the forecast weapon of choice
Flexible modelling approach comes out on top; around half of central banks include a financial sector
Olli Rehn on AIT, market neutrality and EU fiscal policies
The Bank of Finland governor talks about the ECB’s strategy review, market failure on climate change, lessons from the sovereign debt crisis, and the Draghi legacy effect on Covid-19 responses
Stablecoins could allow for ‘embedded supervision’ – BIS paper
But authors say CBDCs may be a more effective means of achieving the same goal
MAS unveils yuan funding for banks in Singapore
New funding scheme of up to 25 billion yuan replaces overnight funding facility
FSB warns of ‘breadth and magnitude’ of climate risks
Report warns climate risk could be more challenging to address than other economic risks
IMF misses gender targets as number of senior women falls
Number of women in senior IMF roles “can and should” increase – report
G20 agrees ‘common framework’ on debt relief
Leaders welcome decision, but criticise private sector for failure to act
CBDC could improve banking stability – Haldane
BoE chief economist envisages banking sector split between payments and credit provision