Central banks

Why central bank digital currencies will never solve our challenges

The People’s Bank of China launched a trial of its e-CNY in Shenzhen in 2020 and has since extended its use to other cities

Bankers must recognise that they can have a digital currency, confidentiality or stability — but not all together

4 min read

Commitments from governments might come under pressure if inflation keeps heading upwards

The challenge of monetary tightening

The Fed’s latest interest rate hike is only one more step on the long and difficult road away from quantitative easing

5 min read

The European Central Bank headquarters beside the River Main in Frankfurt, Germany. Although central banks continue to buy bonds, fiscal policy has been the key response to the Covid-19 pandemic

NatWest chair: Is central bank power getting out of control?

Current loose monetary policies in developed economies are likely to increase wealth inequality, and in the short term there is little that monetary and regulatory authorities can do about it

5 min read

The unspoken crisis underpinning the corporate debt bubble

The downgrading of billions of dollars of debt to junk status is a concern, but could it trigger another financial crisis?

4 min read

For central banks, green ‘mission creep’ has become mission critical

Some say it is not the job of central banks to save the planet. They are wrong

5 min read