When you were speaking at the annual report press conference in June, you mentioned the BIS 100 strategy was a response to the complexity of the global environment. Can you say a bit more about what you mean and what the strategy is trying to respond to?
When I joined the BIS more than a year ago, the previous strategy cycle, led by Agustín [Carstens], had just been successfully concluded. From day one, I began working with my management team and BIS staff on a new strategy. We call it BIS 100, as it will conclude in 2030, coinciding with the centenary of the BIS.
The first step involved analysing the initial position of the institution and identifying the key megatrends relevant to the BIS. One important aspect is the increasing complexity of the economic and financial environment. This is marked by uncomfortably high levels of public debt, the growing role of non-bank financial intermediation, and more frequent and severe supply shocks. Another key megatrend is technology, particularly the rapid pace of development. This includes major advances in artificial intelligence and financial innovation related to tokenisation and new forms of digital money. Also, like any international institution, the BIS has to navigate ongoing geopolitical tensions.
BIS 100 has been designed to address the complexity of this global environment and further strengthen the way we support our member central banks in pursuing their price and financial stability mandates. BIS 100 aims to solidify our strengths in four core activities: providing sound and timely economic and policy insights; fostering dialogue among central banks through our convening power; examining and experimenting with new technological developments; and providing banking services to the central bank community.
To pick one element of the strategy to begin with, what do you see as some of the most important questions for the monetary and economic department right now? Is there a shift in research emphasis?
We have identified four main areas of research on which the institution will focus.
The first is technology and its implications for the future of money. This includes developments in tokenisation, ranging from stablecoins to tokenised deposits.
The second is global finance, particularly the growing role of non-bank financial intermediaries in intermediating increasingly large amounts of public debt, as well as their interconnections with the traditional banking system.
The third area is structural change. Here, we plan to focus on the consequences of geopolitical fragmentation for the global economy, the effects of demographics, or population ageing, and the impact of artificial intelligence on productivity, economic growth and the labour market.
The fourth area is financial regulation. An important goal is to assess more fully the effectiveness and potential side effects of different regulatory measures. This type of analysis is essential to inform the ongoing debate on modernising regulation.
Read the full interview here: Central Banking website
