by Hans Timmrman

In 2019, the initiative ‘Positive Money Europe’ was launched. It is a non-profit organization aimed at repairing the ‘broken’ financial system in Europe and making the economy fairer, more democratic, and more sustainable. In their view, the European Central Bank (ECB) does too little for the average citizen and thereby for our society as a whole. Their example was ‘Positive Money UK’, which similarly focused on the Bank of England with a successful campaign called ‘Quantitative Easing for the People’. In short, all the money printed by central banks, partly due to significant inflation, primarily benefits financial institutions and hardly benefits the population. They want to change that. The ECB should primarily serve EU citizens. In this pursuit, they see the Digital European currency (CBDC) as an innovative solution to this problem. Continue reading…

by Klaas Knot

Transparency should be a guiding principle for central banks. They should be prepared to discuss their monetary policy decisions and clearly explain how their decisions safeguard price stability, and also not shy away from considering any link with public finances and the real economy. Equally, they should communicate proactively and not refrain from being transparent about the potential impact of their decisions on their balance sheets and, as such, emphasise their crucial role in absorbing losses in times of crises. Central banks around the world are going through some pretty turbulent times these days. With huge losses. And the Dutch central bank is no exception. The last time the Dutch central bank faced a similar turbulent situation was roughly a century ago, in 1931 to be exact. The turbulent times that caused significant losses back then, had to do with the gold standard. Continue reading…

by Daniel Vaknine

In the complex landscape of modern business, the role of whistleblowers has evolved from isolated incidents within large corporations and government entities to a critical component of organisational integrity and risk management. Recognising the paramount importance of effective whistleblower programs, here follows 6 tips to enhance and optimise your whistleblowing function, ensuring they not only meet regulatory requirements but also foster a culture of transparency and ethical accountability. Continue reading…

The European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Banking Authority (EBA) aim to harmonise and integrate data reporting by the banking industry with the goal of improving efficiency and reducing the associated costs. To this end, the two institutions have on 18 March established the Joint Bank Reporting Committee (JBRC), which is tasked with helping to develop common definitions and standards for the data that banks are required to report for statistical, supervisory and resolution purposes. Continue reading…

The International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) has published its 2024 Roadmap. The Roadmap outlines the IAIS’ work programme and is guided by the 2020-2024 Strategic Plan. The 2024 Roadmap provides substantial continuity in the IAIS’ workplan. “Significantly, 2024 marks the culmination of a 13-year journey for the global Insurance Capital Standard (ICS), including extensive data collection and analysis, broad global participation from supervisors and insurance groups during the monitoring period and rigorous consultation,” said Jonathan Dixon, IAIS Secretary General. Continue reading…

by Yannis Stournaras

Central bankers have encountered significant challenges over the past 15 years: a global financial turmoil, the euro area sovereign debt crisis, a prolonged period of very-low inflation, the pandemic, and the outbreak of geopolitical crises along with a series of supply-side shocks. Each of these developments has impacted on inflation and economic activity. Each has done so in a different way. In the following remarks, I argue that the monetary policy measures adopted by the ECB during that period — including the lowering of the policy rate to negative levels for a period of 8 years — managed to support a sustained progress towards price stability, ensuring at the same time financial stability, and supporting economic welfare. That said, there were difficult trade-offs to manage. Over time, low rates and non-standard monetary policy measures may lead to excessive leverage and cause short-term dislocations in financial markets. In addition, as we have recently seen, a pivot in the monetary policy stance to combat higher inflation, can cause losses to central banks because they have to remunerate their liabilities at higher interest rates, while their assets have locked in low yields. Do these losses impair the ability of central banks to apply their preferred monetary policy rules? Do they compromise their independence? I argue they do not.
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Nearly half (48 per cent) of businesses may lack the necessary backup measures to prevent catastrophic data losses, according to new research from Fasthosts released ahead of World Backup Day on 31st March. In a digital era where data is the most valuable commodity on the planet, businesses must take note. This is further underlined by recent and high-profile data catastrophes such as Pixar’s Toy Story 2 nightmare, GitLab’s data deletion mishap and the unfortunate data loss in Ohio counties. These stark reminders highlight the perilous journey data can take without the safety net of robust backups. Continue reading…

AT&T* has determined that AT&T data-specific fields were contained in a data set released on the dark web approximately two weeks ago. While AT&T has made this determination, it is not yet known whether the data in those fields originated from AT&T or one of its vendors. With respect to the balance of the data set, which includes personal information such as social security numbers, the source of the data is still being assessed. Continue reading…

A quarter of 15 to 29-year-olds in the EU are at risk of poverty or social exclusion1. Growth of instant payments could mean many more young adults will have savings by 2028. ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ: ACIW), a global leader in mission-critical, instant payments technology, has on 18 March revealed striking new data proving instant payments2 will boost the financial prospects of young adults in the EU. New research from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) commissioned by ACI Worldwide shows that for every 5% increase in the volume of instant payments, the number of 15 to 24-year-olds globally who saved money in the last year increased by 15.6% on average. Continue reading…

by Inge van Dijk

On November second of last year the city of Amsterdam, came very close to disaster. It had been raining heavily for weeks, very unusual even by Dutch standards. Water levels in the waters north of Amsterdam had been rising. On top of that, storm Ciarán was about to reach the coast and drive up the water to even higher levels. Normally, under these circumstances, the sluices around the city drain excess water into the North Sea. But in this case the drainage system malfunctioned. At seven o’ clock that morning, people in some of the lower lying parts of the city saw the water sloshing against their basement windows. By that time the regional water authorities were in full crisis mode and the mayor had been warned. Finally, at half past seven the lock shafts at the sluices were repaired, and the water started to drop slowly. It was just in time: the water could have risen to up to one meter in parts of Amsterdam. Afterwards, the water authorities warned that, although there had been an exceptional combination of factors at play, we are likely to see these kind of water levels more often. Because of extreme weather conditions, caused by climate change. This is just one relative minor example from my home soil. I could have also mentioned the forest fires in Australia, droughts in Africa and central America and cyclones in South East Asia. Continue reading…