Data
The evolving ‘strategy function’ in central banks
Study shows central banks still struggle to fully utilise strategy units
People: UK’s FCA appoints head of ESG
Burundian senior officials switch roles and senior Vietnamese supervisor is promoted
Black applicants face US mortgage discrimination – Philadelphia Fed paper
Lower approval rate cost Black Americans more than $200 billion between 1994 and 2018
Zhang Tao on the IMF’s fintech agenda, CBDCs and big tech oversight
IMF deputy MD speaks about the fund’s views on CBDC operating frameworks and macrofinancial surveillance
PBoC’s Yi says central banks can contribute to net zero
Mandatory disclosures and stress tests are needed to incentivise market’s transition to green economy
Fintech & IT Benchmarks 2021 report – executive summary
Shedding light on fintech initiatives, staffing, salaries, cyber security and more
Fintech & IT Benchmarks 2021 report – detailing the evolution of technology
Benchmarking data sheds light on staffing trends, priority areas of research and more
Emerging-market central banks lead on women’s empowerment
EME central banks have more women at staff level and in senior positions, but there are deep disparities worldwide
Demand for US services likely to rebound- Cleveland Fed survey
Study says US consumers have become more optimistic, except older people
Most central banks spend less than 20% of their IT budget on security
Average spend was 16% of IT budget
Regulating big tech and non-bank financial services in the digital era
Experiences from China highlight potential benefits of digital-bank and holding-company approaches
‘Bottom-up’ approach can improve inflation forecasts – BoE paper
Item-level inflation data contains useful information for forecasting, authors find
Central banks take less than 50 minutes to fix critical outages
Time tolerances for critical system downtime range from one to 32 hours
IMF climate dashboard reveals pattern of vulnerabilities
Data ranges from frequency of natural disasters to carbon intensity of lending
BIS launches database on Covid-19 monetary policy actions
Data designed to help researchers study “massive” policy response to pandemic
Payment innovation is top fintech research priority for central banks
CBDC ranked second as central banks explore wider implications of fintech for payments
High income economy central banks’ technology costs vary widely
Some central banks in advanced economies have kept costs as low as those in poorer nations
Large economy central banks more likely to employ CTO
Slight majority of central banks employ CTO, but differences are clearer when sorted by GDP
Unemployment set to rise to 8% in 2022 – Irish central bank
Bottlenecks in the jobs market may delay employment’s return to pre-pandemic levels
Newspaper text can improve growth forecasts – DNB research
Sentiment index can cut errors in short-term forecasts, study finds
Most central banks hold annual cyber security training sessions
One-third of central banks hold training every 0–6 months
Cyber security and retaining top talent are biggest tech challenges
Keeping abreast of fintech developments also tests institutions
Central Banking Awards 2021: final winners unveiled
Awards announced for central bank of the year, economics, risk management and more
Initiative of the year: Saudi Central Bank’s business continuity programme
Advanced planning allowed Sama employees and systems to continue operating critical functions despite Covid-19 lockdowns