Representative Office for the Americas

Promotes the exchange of views on financial stability and collaboration on research and analysis in this area.

The Consultative Group of Directors of Financial Stability (CGDFS) was established in November 2014 to research topics related to financial stability of common interest to CCA central banks.

The first CGDFS working group started in 2015 and studied "The impact of macroprudential policies: an empirical analysis using credit registry data". Each central bank of the CCA developed its own analysis, using a similar methodology to enhance the comparability of the results. The main results of the project were summarised in a joint paper and published in the Journal of Financial Intermediation.

The second working group studied the changes in banks' business models and their impact on bank lending. The studies focused on the evolution of business models in the main economies in Latin America and how they have affected the response of credit supply to domestic and external shocks. The summary paper was published in the Journal of Banking and Finance.

In 2017 the CGDFS established a Study Group on "Stress testing in Latin America: a comparison of approaches and methodologies". The group carried out a common stress test exercise to gain further insights on the different methodologies and on their implications for the outcomes.

In 2019, the CGDFS conducted a survey on fintech activities and regulation in the region. The analysis was published in the report "The dawn of fintech in Latin America: landscape, prospects and challenges."

In 2020, the CGDFS teamed up with the Financial Stability Board to look at whether the rate of growth of credit granted by bank subsidiaries of globally systemically important banks (G-SIBs) operating in five Latin American countries was different from those of other banks in the region following the announcement of the G-SIB capital surcharge. The result were published in Evaluation of the effects of too-big-to-fail reforms: Technical Appendix.

In 2021, the CGDFS contributed to the report by the BIS Committee on the Global Financial System on Changing patterns of capital flows. Taking advantage once again of the granularity of credit registry data, the working group assessed the impact of capital inflows on domestic corporate loans in Latin America. The results were also published in the working paper How capital inflows translate into new bank lending: tracing the mechanism in Latin America.

In 2022, the CGDFS established a technical task force to evaluate the financial stability risks of crypto-assets in emerging market economies. The results were published as the BIS paper "Financial stability risks from cryptoassets in emerging market economies".

The CGDFS meets twice per year (one virtual meeting, one in-person meeting) with the chair rotating among its members. The current Chair is Carolyn Rogers (Bank of Canada)

Fosters the exchange of views and analysis on financial market developments and central bank operations.

The Consultative Group of Directors of Operations (CGDO) was established in April 2014 to analyse topics related to the functioning or structure of operations and markets of common interest to CCA central banks.

The study group's first project was initiated in mid-2014. It shed light on currency carry trades in Latin America, whose strategies and investor composition has changed significantly since the Great Financial Crisis. The resulting report was published as BIS Papers no 81 in April 2015.

The second project started in May 2016 and analysed foreign exchange liquidity in the Americas. The study assessed the various metrics currently used to measure FX market liquidity, described liquidity conditions and recent trends, and discussed the forces driving liquidity conditions in FX markets globally and in the Americas. The report was published as BIS Papers no 90.

The third project started in January 2019 and dealt with "Key operational issues on foreign exchange interventions".

In the second half of 2022, there was a joint effort of the Markets Committee, the Americas Office and the Asian Office to enhance the market transparency and the understanding of central bank actions, through the Monetary Policy Operating Procedures (MPOP) questionnaire and the MC Compendium. A handout of the MPOP of the central banks in the region was distributed and discussed during the in-person meeting of the CGDO in September 2022.

The CGDO meets regularly in virtual format, with one in-person meeting per year. The chair rotates among its members. The current Chair is Anna Nordström (Federal Reserve Bank of New York).

Promotes cooperation in developing technological solutions for improving the efficiency of payment systems and financial inclusion.

The Consultative Group on Innovation and the Digital Economy (CGIDE) was launched in February 2020 to foster greater cooperation among BIS shareholder central banks in the Americas in the area of technological innovation and the digital economy.

Specifically, the CGIDE provides a forum where senior officials of BIS shareholder central banks in the Americas can cooperate to work towards the following general objectives:

1. Analysing and developing public technological infrastructures geared towards tackling common shortcomings in all participating jurisdictions.
2. Promoting an environment suitable to open banking, potentially through the development of key application program interfaces (APIs).
3. Analysing the implications of these public technological infrastructures in terms of market structure and regulatory implications.

The CGIDE's first project explored technical issues surrounding the development of an identification and authentication API. The aim was to implement privately and publicly administered open finance solutions with seamless scalability. A technical task force of central bank specialists completed the project in December 2020 with the publication of the report Enabling open finance through APIs.

The second project, regarding the technical issues surrounding payment initiation, was published in September 2021: Enabling open finance through APIs: report on payment initiation.

The third project, published in October 2022, deals with data-sharing models. It aims to serve as a useful general reference for central banks seeking to develop their own data-sharing initiatives related to account aggregation in the context of open finance: API standards for data-sharing (account aggregator).

In 2023 and 2024, a technical task force under the CGIDE published two reports on "High-level technical requirements for a functional central bank digital currency (CBDC) architecture" (December 2023) and a proposal for a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) architecture (December 2024).

In April 2025, another technical task force published the report "Leveraging tokenisation for payments and financial transactions", which discusses theoretical and real-world use cases of tokenisation.

The CGIDE meets regularly throughout the year, and once per year in person. It is chaired by Alberto Naudon (Central Bank of Chile).

Promotes dialogue on monetary policy matters in the Americas.

The Consultative Group on Monetary Policy (CGMP) was formed in December 2023 with the aim of fostering discussions on monetary policy matters in the Americas. Its primary focus lies in the analysis of monetary policy, decision-making processes and communication strategies, and addressing various challenges encountered by CCA central banks in these areas.

The first meeting of the CGMP was in May 2024 in virtual format, and focused on the neutral rate of interest (r*). The first in-person meeting of the CGMP was in October 2024 in Mexico City.

The CGMP conducts two meetings per year, one virtual and one in-person. The current Chair is Marc-André Gosselin (Bank of Canada).

Promotes collaboration on risk management issues.

The Consultative Group on Risk Management (CGRM) was launched in March 2021 to meet the demand by BIS member central banks in the Americas for greater cooperation on central bank risk management, recognising the rapid shifts taking place in the risk landscape. These shifts include the intensification of cyber threats, rapidly evolving technology, growing reliance on third-party service providers and changes in central bank operations due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In April 2022, the CGRM published the report Business continuity planning at central banks during and after the pandemic.

In July 2022, the CGRM published the report Incorporating climate-related risks into international reserve management frameworks.

In November 2023, the CGRM published the report Central bank digital currency (CBDC) information security and operational risks to central banks.

In January 2025, the CGRM published the report Governance of AI adoption in central banks.

The CGRM meets virtually on a regular basis throughout the year, and once per year in person. The current Chair is Paulo Pichetti (Central Bank of Brazil).

Organises research conferences and networks in the areas of monetary and financial stability.

The Scientific Committee was established in 2009. It hosted the first annual CCA research conference on "Systemic risk, bank behaviour and regulation over the business cycle" on 17-18 March 2010 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Since then, the Scientific Committee has organised an annual research conference, each time with a different theme. The most recent edition, held on 2-3 December 2024 in Bogota, Colombia, focused on "Macrofinancial implications of climate change and environmental degradation". A full list of themes and programmes of the research conferences organised by the Scientific Committee is available here.

The Scientific Committee also coordinates thematic research networks on issues of interest to central banks in the region. An overview of past research networks is available here.

The Scientific Committee, currently chaired by Adrián Armas (Central Reserve Bank of Peru, holds annual virtual meetings to coordinate on research priorities and define the focus of the annual research conference and research network. It also promotes cooperation among researchers in CCA central banks. A webpage compiling the links to CCA central banks' research publications can be found here.

Supports the exchange of views on central bank communications and outreach.

The CCA Heads of Communications Network was founded in November 2022 and held its inaugural meeting at the BIS Americas Office in Mexico City.

The Network brings together the Heads of Communications of the CCA central banks. It allows for an exchange of views on challenges and opportunities for central bank communications, including new techniques, tools and channels, practices for outreach to the general public and the use of new channels like social media. It facilitates peer learning and the sharing of best practices in communications.

The Heads of Communications Network meets once per year in person. It is currently chaired by Jill Forde and Krista Hughes (BIS).