Data
Most central banks plan no new banknotes in near future
Fewer than a quarter of banks plan new notes in next five years
Demand for cash in turbulent times
Antti Heinonen analyses trends in cash use as Covid fades, but new shocks take its place
CBDC, cash and fast payments: the view from the IMF meetings
Digital currency and fast payments present ample opportunity for improvements, say policy-makers
Reserve Benchmarks 2022 charts
Take a deep dive into the Reserve Benchmarks charts, which have just been released for 2022
Share of reserve managers investing in green and social bonds declines
Share of portfolios allocated to these assets grow modestly
Ukraine: the challenges for central banks
Rules on the weaponisation of money would help to protect a ‘public good’ amid geopolitical splits in a testing environment for central banks, write Gavin Bingham, Paul Fisher and Andrew Large
BIS project seeks better historical statistics
Collaboration between BIS, central banks and academia aims at better understanding of economic history
Average central bank equity allocations at 11.9%
Despite higher volatility, high income central banks increase their investments in equities
Asset diversification and staff training main goals for external contracts
All non-high income central banks aim to offer training to staff, high income jurisdictions focused on diversification and market intelligence
Most central banks expect sanctions on Russia to have a long-term effect
Trend is weaker in Europe than in the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Africa
Over 90% of central banks trim duration as protection against inflation
Fewer institutions increased US Treasuries (18.75%), reduced exposure to unconventional assets (6.25%)
Central banks’ coverage ratio drops by 23%
Reserves buffers to cover monthly imports decline to 6.9 months
Staff salaries at reserves departments increased 17.6% from last year
Total staff numbers declined by 10% to 27
Inflation: what went wrong, and why?
Charles Goodhart and Manoj Pradhan detail three theories on the causes of high inflation, as well as their implications for policy responses
More central banks expand existing liquidity swap lines
More than 23% of participating countries gained access to IMF facilities over past year
Share of central banks screening ESG risks declines slightly
Central banks in Europe in top slot for including ESG criteria on their benchmarks
Is there a case for a retail CBDC in Japan?
A BoJ-managed, account-ledger ‘digital yen’ tied to the new Kotora payments may offer some potential
Central banks divided on how Russia sanctions will hit reserve currencies
Non-European central banks more likely to expect a growing role for renminbi in reserves portfolios
Most central banks will not alter diversification due to high inflation
Over 63% of central banks do not plan changes, almost 27% are discussing modifications, and close to 10% have already implemented them or plan to do it
Social media: an essential tool for central bank communication
Strategies to secure popularity, comprehensibility and reputation as new media takes centre stage
Boards remain key body in benchmarking approval
In almost 60% of central banks the board makes final decision, investment committee in 29%
Over 18% of central banks adopted new reserves assets last year
Middle income jurisdictions led the trend, 28.6% diversified their asset allocation
Emerging markets central banks maintain lead in portfolio tranching
European institutions are less likely to implement this strategy
Morocco’s Jouahri on inflation, forex reform, digitalisation and sustainability
The Central Bank of Morocco governor speaks with Christopher Jeffery about Covid-19 policies, Fed tightening, BIS membership, regional co-operation and financial inclusion