Europe
Central banks continue climate action despite political pressure
Reserve managers are expanding green investments, as some incorporate “double materiality”
Remittance fees unregulated in most jurisdictions despite high costs
But central banks identify opportunities in cross border payments integration
Banks are main instant payments participants
Email address is central banks’ least-used payment channel
Supervisors must embrace technology – ECB’s McCaul
Data is “growing exponentially”, so supervisors must innovate to track risks, supervisory board member says, as SSM digitalisation enters ‘phase 2’
Central bankers warn of US election risks
Danger of tariffs and supply chain disruptions, Central Banking Summer Meetings hear
Two in five RTGS systems experienced outage last year
Majority of central banks plan technology upgrade within a year
ECB penalises European banks for not meeting climate risk deadline
European real estate market remains a concern but banks are in a “robust” position, Jochnick says
Around two-fifths of central banks planning instant payments
Central banks processed instant transactions with average value of over $124 billion in 2023
ECB appoints three senior officials to supervisory board
Irish, French and Portuguese trio to replace current members by the end of the year
Majority of central banks increased payment system budget in 2023
Nearly half of central banks say resourcing is not sufficient
ECB cuts policy rate by 25 basis points
Strong eurozone wage growth rules out commitment to further cuts, says governing council
Average cost of running RTGS systems is $1.8 million
Annual costs slightly higher than last year’s benchmark
Most RTGS systems operate between seven and 12 hours daily
More than 40 institutions on average have direct access to infrastructure
BdF paper looks at what new global currency would need
Unified debt market would go “some way” to internationalising the euro
Most central banks optimistic about tokenisation
Programmability, digital signatures and enhanced security are some purported benefits
Slightly over half of payments teams outsource services to third parties
Contracting central banks provide information on attendant risks and precautionary measures
Payments staff strength averages close to 30 personnel
Employees in the Americas collect highest average annual salary
Twenty years on, Visegrád states are converging to rest of the EU
Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia have undergone economic transformation, CNB finds
Fewer than half of central banks involved in pricing payments
But Asia-Pacific and African institutions are typically do engage in pricing
QE should stabilise rather than stimulate – ECB’s Schnabel
Asset purchases have become conventional, but central banks should exercise caution
Over a third of central banks say retail payments are diversifying
Americas and Asia-Pacific tend to report diversification, as tech and regulation drives change
ECB is ready to cut rates, chief economist says
Next steps in ECB’s easing cycle will be “bumpy” and “gradual”, says Philip Lane
Over half of central banks have payments oversight powers
Networks and international remittance supervision only covered in a few jurisdictions
Risks facing central banks: action and inaction
Unlike Fed policy in the 1990s, central bank actions this century do not appear overly accommodative, given poor policy decisions elsewhere, writes Andrew Smithers