Bank for International Settlements – BIS

Alexandre Tombini, Chief Representative of the BIS Americas Office, participated in the policy panel “The future of money: What’s next for Mexico and the world” at the 89th Banking Convention in Cancún, Mexico, earlier this month. His remarks addressed the transformative role of digitalisation in money, payments and financial systems, with a focus on developments in the Americas. Mr Tombini highlighted the impact of fast payment systems in advancing financial inclusion and boosting economic productivity. He also discussed tokenisation’s potential to enhance financial transactions and foster more efficient markets. He emphasised: “Money will undoubtedly become more digital, programmable and interconnected. However, the goal should not be technology for its own sake, but rather a financial system that is inclusive, efficient and anchored in trust. This trust must be earned and sustained through sound policies and robust governance. Financial digitalisation is a strategic tool to ensure sound money, foster economic development and safeguard financial stability.” https://bit.ly/4bMjRg6

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision’s latest monitoring exercise on the Basel III framework found that liquidity ratios increased slightly while risk-based capital and leverage ratios remained stable for large internationally active banks. The latest report, based on data as of 30 June 2025, sets out trends in current bank capital and liquidity ratios and the impact of the fully phased-in Basel III framework. It covers both large internationally active banks (Group 1) and other smaller banks (Group 2). The implementation of the final elements of the Basel III minimum requirements began on 1 January 2023. At the end of the first half of 2025, the average impact of the fully phased-in final Basel III framework on the Tier 1 minimum required capital (MRC) of Group 1 banks was +1.7%, compared with +2.8% at end-December 2024. This impact reflects the full implementation by banks that have not yet implemented the remaining elements of Basel III, as well as the effect of the fully phased-in output floor for all banks. Group 1 banks reported €0.8 billion of regulatory capital shortfall, compared with €2.4 billion at end-December 2024. The monitoring report is accompanied by interactive Tableau dashboards, offering users an intuitive way to explore results. One dashboard focuses on banks’ exposure to cryptoassets and shows how banks have reported whether they believe certain cryptoasset exposures meet the four classification conditions outlined in SCO60. Find out more here: bit.ly/3PV2KkK #BaselCommittee #BaselIII

How do central banks communicate when the future is uncertain? Watch the video to know more about the challenges they face and the tools central banks can use to maintain clarity, credibility and accountability. Learn more: https://bit.ly/4lteoPC #BISQuarterly

Thank you to everyone who joined us at the BIS Tower last week for Basler Geschichtstage (“Basel History Days”), with the theme “History Moves”. This was the first time we participated in this local history initiative, and we welcomed members of the Basel community to learn why the BIS is at home in Basel and how the city became a meeting place for central bankers from around the world. Deputy General Manager Andrea M Maechler opened the event, followed by lectures from our historian, Piet Clement, who gave a special lecture, “From the world to Basel – and from Basel to the world”. Participants heard how the BIS supports central banks and financial regulators globally in their efforts to support monetary and financial stability and were able to view exhibits from the BIS historical archive. We also welcomed four local school classes who took part in a presentation on the history of money by Verena Seidl, member of the Basel Committee Secretariat. Thank you to all who made this year’s Basler Geschichtstage possible.

The BIS Time-series Regression Oracle (BISTRO) works like a ChatGPT for time series: it provides forecasts for key macroeconomic series and enables the exploration of scenarios. Researchers can try it out: https://bit.ly/4uy0ks9 Learn more: https://bit.ly/4bM9km6

Offshore activity obscures financial links in residence-based statistics that only become clear from a nationality perspective, like that available in BIS statistics on banking and bond markets. In the latest BIS Quarterly Review, Iñaki Aldasoro, Bryan Hardy, Goetz von Peter and Philip Wooldridge document that almost a third (nearly $11 trillion) of international debt securities (IDS) are issued by affiliates located outside their home country. Non-financial companies issue nearly half of IDS via non-bank financial affiliates, often in financial centres, with proceeds sometimes repatriated to their home office via intercompany loans. Banks’ offshore affiliates, mainly in financial centres, account for over 40% of global cross-border bank lending. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3NOsVJg #BISStatistics

Europe’s single resolution mechanism (SRM) banking union is a significant achievement that has proved capable of managing bank failures. However, certain features increase its complexity compared with the frameworks of other major jurisdictions. Unnecessary complexity has costs for firms and authorities. An excessively complicated framework is less efficient and may also be less effective. A new FSI Occasional Paper by Fernando Restoy Lozano and Ruth Walters argues that there is a link between the features of the framework that increase its complexity and specific institutional characteristics of the European banking union. These features hinder both the efficiency of the SRM and its ability to further foundational objectives of the banking union. The paper identifies areas where ambitious changes could make the resolution framework more efficient and better able to support the competitiveness of the European banking industry without compromising its objectives. Read more at https://bit.ly/4bTfpNC #FinancialStabilityInstitute #BankResolution

What are synthetic risk transfers (SRTs)? Why have they grown recently and what are their risk implications? In the latest BIS Quarterly Review, Prashant Babu, Michael Chui and Costas Stephanou document the rise of SRTs and assess their risks from a system-wide perspective. SRT-related risks stem from banks’ reliance on institutional investors for credit protection, investor leverage and liquidity mismatch vulnerabilities, and from spillovers from bank-investor linkages. While these risks remain modest today, they could grow as the market expands. Limited and fragmented information on SRTs heighten the potential for associated risks to build undetected, highlighting the need for enhanced risk monitoring. Learn more: https://bit.ly/4sk1hmt #BISQuarterly #Securitisation #SyntheticSecuritisation #NBFI

Watch the media briefing from 13 March and follow remarks by Hyun Song Shin Gaston Gelos and Frank Smets about the latest #BISQuarterlyReview. Follow the link to watch the video: https://lnkd.in/e42EXp_k #FinancialStability #InflationExpectations

How do emerging market economies’ central banks respond to external shocks? The textbook prescription – that floating exchange rates should absorb spillovers – is often inadequate for these economies that rely on external funding. In such economies, exchange rate effects complicate monetary policy transmission: rate cuts can weaken the local currency, hurt borrowers and global investors financially, tighten credit and slow growth. In the latest BIS Quarterly Review, Mikael Juselius and Dora Xia examine how foreign debt and FX market depth shape emerging market economies’ monetary policy responses to external shocks. Central banks in economies with both high external foreign currency debt and shallow FX markets adjust their policy rates in step with US monetary policy surprises. Consistent with this reaction, these countries show smaller exchange rate movements compared with other countries. Learn more: https://bit.ly/4btghHo #BISStatistics