The sheer existence of EUR/CHF put options with strike prices below the EUR/CHF 1.20 floor, trading at non-zero cost, challenged the full credibility of the Swiss National Bank (SNB) in enforcing the lower barrier implemented in September 6, 2011 and abandoned on January 15, 2015. We estimate...

The increase in central bank transparency was one of the main developments in central banking in the last two decades. This leads to the question of which effect central bank transparency has on the volatility of exchange rates. According to theoretical considerations, more information could...

In this paper, we develop a model incorporating the impact of financial inclusion to study the implications of introducing a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC). CBDCs in developing countries (unlike in advanced countries) have the potential to bank large unbanked populations and boost...

The zero level of interest rates constitutes a limit of this standard monetary policy instrument. Based on the example of the Czech Republic we argue that in such a situation foreign exchange interventions represent a meaningful monetary policy tool for small open economies not facing serious...

We examine the economic consequences of an interest-bearing design of the Central-Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), and extend the discussion to an open-economy context with trade and capital flows. We use a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model to simulate a baseline scenario with...

The paper investigates from the policy rate to the market rates under the interest rate marketization of the People's Bank of China (PBC) since 2014. The focus is on the pass-through of the PBC's policy target rates pass-through to the market rates. Empirical results, on the daily basis of an...

Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are receiving more attention than ever before. Yet the motivations for issuance vary across countries, as do the policy approaches and technical designs. We investigate the economic and institutional drivers of CBDC development and take stock of design...

Based on technical assistance to central banks by the IMF’s Monetary and Capital Markets Department and Information Technology Department, this paper examines fintech and the related area of cybersecurity from the perspective of central bank risk management. The paper draws on findings from...

This paper analyzes whether and how central banks can use currency options to lower exchange rate volatility and maintain (implicit) target zones in foreign exchange markets. It argues that selling rather than buying options will result in market makers dynamically hedging their long option...

Over a decade has passed since a mysterious creator under the alias Satoshi Nakamoto (a pseudonym) launched Bitcoin in January 2009, who designed it as a decentralized (permissionless) purely peer-to-peer network of electronic cash that runs on blockchain using cryptography and distributed...