Benchmarking
Two in five CBDCs designed to be programmable
Over half of respondents’ retail CBDC projects are at research phase
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
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
Risk Management Benchmarks 2026 – executive summary
Benchmarks include new data on op risk, as well as the risk outlook, monitoring tools and more
Risk Management Benchmarks 2026 report – tracking op risk
Benchmarks include new data on op risk prevalence, drivers and monitoring tools
Risk management reviews are most common assessment method
Centralised teams are less likely to conduct external or management evaluations
UK’s Orange Book risk approach rarely used by central banks
Only three centralised risk management departments utilise principle
Privacy and security seen as top AI risk
Most risk managers more relaxed about potential financial losses caused by AI
Staff error is largest cause of op risk at central banks
Legacy systems tend to trigger most threats in jurisdictions with greater than average number of incidents
Op risk incidents average over 100 a year among central banks
Financial impact is risk managers’ strongest metric for gauging incidents’ severity
Phishing and ransomware are central banks’ main cyber threats
Teams widely use training, monitoring and privilege management to mitigate cyber threats
CBDCs versus instant payments
Are technological and ecosystem advances using CBDCs and instant payments complementary or substitutes?
Just under half of risk departments are sufficiently staffed
Units with satisfied staffing levels earn below global average annual salary
Mitigation and reporting are leading components of risk strategy
Decentralised teams more likely to embed philosophy in divisional decision-making
Most centralised risk teams prioritise cyber security
Decentralised teams primarily cover credit and counterparty, op and market risks
Risk policies widely reviewed by committee in larger teams
Central banks with larger teams favour risk committees over CROs
Middle income central banks have highest number of risk staff
But ratios of risk management employees to total headcount vary widely
Cross-Benchmarks Staffing Report 2025: tackling shortages
Benchmarking data and central bank comments point to bottlenecks, but HR teams are taking action
2025: The year in central banking
A look back at the biggest and most popular stories of the year
Communications Benchmarks 2025 – model banks analysis
Data breakdowns reveal trends in resourcing, social media use and AI adoption
Communications Benchmarks 2025 – executive summary
Benchmark data sheds light on topics including social media use, comms strategies and stakeholder engagement
Communications Benchmarks 2025 report – getting social
Benchmarks highlight growing use of social media and AI among central bank comms teams