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Majority of central banks still lack CBDC issuance powers
Legal mandates are scarce in both larger and smaller central banks
Two in five CBDCs designed to be programmable
Over half of respondents’ retail CBDC projects are at research phase
Risk Management Benchmarks 2026 report – tracking op risk
Benchmarks include new data on op risk prevalence, drivers and monitoring tools
Some central banks expect CBDC to boost seigniorage
Result depends on design features of digital currency, with many central banks unsure of the outcome
Payment innovation is top fintech research priority
Recruitment and retention of talents is biggest tech challenge, but constraints vary somewhat by teams
Inter-bank working groups
Facilitating connections between central bankers across the globe to promote the exchange of expertise and support collaboration.
Upcoming meetings include: Cyber risk management, social media in communications and upgrading forecast models.
Model banks
Risk Management Benchmarks 2026 – model banks analysis
Communications Benchmarks 2025 – model banks analysis
Monetary Policy Benchmarks 2025 – model banks analysis
Reserve Benchmarks 2025 – model banks analysis
Financial Stability Benchmarks 2025 – model banks analysis
Supervision Benchmarks 2025 – model banks analysis
Payments Benchmarks 2025 – model banks analysis
Strategic Planning Benchmarks 2025 – model banks analysis
Governance Benchmarks 2025 – model banks analysis
Fintech Benchmarks 2025 – model banks analysis
Risk Management Benchmarks 2025 – model banks analysis
Economics Benchmarks 2024 – model banks analysis
Charts
Op risk drivers
Overall, staff errors are the most widespread cause of operational risks. But filtering the data reveals other patterns. Notably, central banks that are seeing higher than average numbers of incidents (>100 in the past year) are most likely to report that IT issues due to legacy systems are the chief driver of op risk. This group is also more likely to face challenges due to physical security.
Reports
Risk Management Benchmarks 2026 report – tracking op risk
Cross-Benchmarks Staffing Report 2025: tackling shortages
Communications Benchmarks 2025 report – getting social
Cross-Benchmarks AI Report 2025: a question of creative destruction
Monetary Policy Benchmarks 2025 report – risk-based policy
Reserve Benchmarks 2025 report – tariff realignment?
Financial Stability Benchmarks 2025 report – the threat from tariffs
Supervision Benchmarks 2025 report – digital oversight
Payments Benchmarks 2025 report – cross-border connections
Strategic Planning Benchmarks 2025 report – charting a path
Governance Benchmarks 2025 report – independence amid turbulence
Central banks facing fintech hiring challenges tend to have bigger teams
Private sector opportunity is most widely reported issue for fintech staffing
Risk Management Benchmarks 2026 – model banks analysis
Data breakdowns shed light on op risk drivers and incidents, AI use and department structures
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