The Americas
Lower immigration affecting US household spending power
Low immigration has contributed to increased prices of consumer goods, argues Atlanta Fed
Most central banks have difficulty hiring skilled cyber security staff
Respondents highlight pay disparity, skills gap and technological advancements as factors
Monetary policy is tight enough, says head of Atlanta Fed
Raphael Bostic said he expects rate cuts in Q3, but could advocate for them sooner
Reasons for refusing mortgages ‘do not explain racial disparity’
Minneapolis Fed’s study challenges explanations given for why people of colour are treated differently
Exit rate of risk management staff averages over 10%
Workers in middle income institutions tend to leave at a higher rate
Operational and financial risk units have largest staff
Upper-middle income institutions have largest average total number of risk employees
Local preferences affect US bank lending to minorities – research
Ethnic minorities’ credit access is affected by stakeholders, NY Fed paper finds
Enterprise-wide risk management widespread among central banks
Few institutions maintain use of department-level and damage limitation approaches
Fed paper presents new way to measure consumer welfare
Consumer preferences change in line with incomes, researcher argues
Most central banks lack climate risk units
Just under half of institutions say they have difficulty hiring staff with matching skills
Cyber and fintech risk policies rejigged in a few central banks
Departmental structure varies across jurisdictions
Central banks should co-ordinate policy – Minneapolis Fed paper
Policy-makers should consider decisions’ effects on world real rate, authors say
Extreme temperature harms household finances, warns paper
Payday loan delinquency and defaults increase during extreme weather
Minority of central banks altered risk functions in past two years
Amendments emanate from factors including technology and climate change
Communicating uncertainty helps curb expectations – BoC paper
But conveying uncertainty about inflation weakens link between inflation and spending plans
Few central banks lack risk management strategies
Two respondents do not have a risk strategy and slightly more lack a defined risk tolerance
GRC systems remain scarce among central banks
Minority of central banks project adoption this year, others aim to upgrade
Alberto Musalem becomes St Louis Fed president
Musalem will start on April 2 and be a voting member of FOMC in 2025
Most heads of risk management units report to governor or board
Risk management committees are more likely to exist in central banks than chief risk officers
Risk management units are most often centralised
Operational risks are the most covered area across participating jurisdictions
Fed research looks at second-round effects of oil price inflation
Late 2022 oil price rally could cause inflationary pressure as late as mid-2025, paper finds
Milei confirms Santiago Bausili as BCRA pick
Appeals court recently dismissed conflict–of-interest charges against governor-designate
Administrative data tops list as alternative data source
Research and forecasting remain key areas of application for central bank economists
Economists’ rate of access to centralised data services still below par
Central banks in high-income jurisdictions still have more access