Publication: Reserve Management Survey Report 2023: Insights into Public Asset Management
Loading...
Published
2023-10-27
ISSN
Date
2023-10-27
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
This survey report represents a collaborative effort between Reserve Advisory and Management Partnership (RAMP) and central banks worldwide to advance the understanding and practice of reserve management. The cooperation of all central banks involved is greatly appreciated, and we anticipate that the findings obtained from this survey will make a valuable contribution to the ongoing success and resilience of central bank reserve management.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2023. Reserve Management Survey Report 2023: Insights into Public Asset Management. RAMP Survey; No.4. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/40545 License: CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO.”
Digital Object Identifier
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Central Bank Reserve Management Practices(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-10-22)The World Bank Treasury’s Reserve Advisory and Management Partnership (RAMP) conducted its third survey on reserve management practices in 2021. One hundred and nineteen central banks, from different regions, income groups, and reserve levels, contributed to the survey, which included questions on investment policies, asset allocation, risk management, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing, and business continuity. The pandemic underlined the importance of safety and liquidity for reserve portfolios. The authors find that central banks maintained their conservative investment approach, focusing on high-quality fixed-income assets denominated in US dollars and euros. At the same time, against a backdrop of ultra-low interest rates in major economies, we also observe that central banks continued, in their search for yield, to gradually diversify their reserves into more currencies and asset classes within fixed income. Survey results also indicate that central banks’ risk management practices show room for improvement, especially in institutions that have expanded into nontraditional asset classes, including those that invest in corporate credit. Meanwhile, reserve managers could further enhance internal risk and reporting practices to strengthen oversight. ESG investing is still rarely adopted by central banks, and fewer than a quarter of respondents have included ESG objectives in their investment policy. Crucially, this is largely explained by the focus of reserve portfolios on high-quality fixed-income assets, among which ESG instruments and strategies are rarely encountered. We learn that, in order to maintain business continuity, central banks implemented home-based work in 2020, but technological drawbacks and cybersecurity concerns tended significantly to obstruct any ambition to attain fully remote reserve management operations. The paper carries the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and World Bank and its affiliated organizations or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent.Publication IFC Annual Report 2014 : Big Challenges, Big Solutions(Washington, DC: World Bank Group, 2014)International Finance Corporation (IFC or the Corporation) is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries. Established in 1956, IFC is owned by 184 member countries, a group that collectively determines its policies. IFC is a member of the World Bank Group (WBG)1 but is a legal entity separate and distinct from IBRD, IDA, MIGA, and ICSID, with its own Articles of Agreement, share capital, financial structure, management, and staff. Membership in IFC is open only to member countries of IBRD. At the 2013 Spring Meetings, the WBG adopted two ambitious goals: to end extreme poverty by 2030 and to boost shared prosperity for the poorest 40 percent in developing countries. At the Annual Meetings in October 2013, the Board of Governors approved the first strategy for the WBG focused on delivery of transformational solutions, marshaling combined resources more effectively, and accelerating collaboration with the private sector and our development partners. IFC s strategic focus areas are: strengthening the focus on frontier markets; addressing climate change and ensuring environmental and social sustainability; addressing constraints to private sector growth in infrastructure, health, education, and the food-supply chain; developing local financial markets; and building long-term client relationships in emerging markets.Publication Central Bank Reserve Management Practices(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-04-27)In the summer of 2019, the World Bank Treasury’s Reserve Advisory and Management Partnership (RAMP) conducted its second survey on central banks’ reserve management practices, with a particular focus on governance, accounting, and other operational practices. Understanding these practices is particularly relevant during the COVID-19 crisis, as central banks use their foreign currency reserves to help their countries deal with capital outflows and sharp decreases in exports, tourism, and remittances. On governance, the survey finds that the most common practice is that boards set the investment policy and guidelines, investment committees review the proposals to the board and monitor implementation, and operational units make day-to-day decisions and develop proposals for the board. Central banks have different organizational arrangements for their operational units. The survey results also show that most central banks are well-positioned to provide foreign currency liquidity during the coronavirus pandemic, as they continue to invest their reserves in high-quality fixed-income assets. At the same time, the gradual diversification to nontraditional asset classes continues. The allocation to emerging market bonds, corporate bonds, and mortgage-backed securities of central banks reserves increased slightly since the previous survey. The data show considerable cross-country differences in the way central banks manage their reserves, and in some circumstances, the analysis suggests these differences correlate with respondents’ country income groups and levels of reserve adequacy. Regarding accounting practices, two-thirds of central banks report some degree of implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The survey also reveals multiple practices to distribute central bank net income to governments. However, data suggest that the transfers of profits between central banks and ministries of finance are not symmetrical—central banks are more likely to distribute profits than to receive financial support in case of losses.Publication Reserve Management Survey Report 2025: Insights into Public Asset Management, the Fifth Edition(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-11-11)The World Bank Treasury’s Reserve Advisory and Management Partnership (RAMP) team conducted its fifth survey on reserve management practices in 2025. This report presents findings from 136 central banks, representing the highest response rate to date. The survey captures evolving reserve management practices amid concerns about global inflation, monetary policies, and geopolitical tensions, all leading to macroeconomic uncertainty. The data was collected in the first quarter of 2025 and provided by the participants as of December 2024. Respondents identified key concerns, including managing geopolitical risks, navigating macroeconomic policy shifts, and balancing liquidity with returns. The report also highlights the growing importance of sustainability in reserve management, though some institutions noted challenges in aligning these goals with such traditional objectives as safety, liquidity, and return. Operational capacity, particularly in terms of talent development and modernizing IT systems, emerged as a recurring theme. This edition of the survey aims to capture how these shifting dynamics are influencing reserve management decisions and institutional priorities.Publication Kyrgyz Republic Public Expenditure Review Policy Notes : Public Investment Management(Washington, DC, 2014-05)Weaknesses in the public investment management (PIM) system may limit the gains from higher public sector investments in the Kyrgyz Republic. Capital spending has averaged 6.4 percent of GDP since 2010, up from 4.6 percent of GDP between 2005 and 2009, with significant investment in the energy sector and roads. Still, it remains unclear to what extent these investment decisions reflect the country's and sector priorities. Few projects, with the exception of donor-financed projects are subject to rigorous appraisal and there is no systematic procedure in place to monitor implementation progress. As a result, projects are often delayed or stalled and cost over-runs are frequent. Donor-financed projects, which comprise the bulk of public investment, are subject to relatively more rigorous project cycle management; however, they too face some of the same weaknesses. The rest of the note is structured as follows: section two provides a diagnosis of the public investment portfolio, including the structure of expenditures, the quality of the data, and a quantitative assessment of the efficacy and effectiveness of the public investment portfolio. The assessment builds on previous work on public investment in the Kyrgyz Republic, in particular the Public Investment Diagnostic undertaken in 2012 under the Capacity Building in Economic Management (CBEM) project. Section three reviews the institutional and administrative framework of PIM in Kyrgyz Republic. This draws largely from the draft Investment Diagnostic Report prepared in December 2012 using the eight key 'must-have' features of a well-functioning public investments framework proposed in Rajaram et.al. (2011). Finally, section four includes a summary of the findings and detailed recommendations on improving PIM.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Commodity Markets Outlook, April 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-04-29)Commodity prices are set to fall sharply this year, by about 12 percent overall, as weakening global economic growth weighs on demand. In 2026, commodity prices are projected to reach a six-year low. Oil prices are expected to exert substantial downward pressure on the aggregate commodity index in 2025, as a marked slowdown in global oil consumption coincides with expanding supply. The anticipated commodity price softening is broad-based, however, with more than half of the commodities in the forecast set to decrease this year, many by more than 10 percent. The latest shocks to hit commodity markets extend a so far tumultuous decade, marked by the highest level of commodity price volatility in at least half a century. Between 2020 and 2024, commodity price swings were frequent and sharp, with knock-on consequences for economic activity and inflation. In the next two years, commodity prices are expected to put downward pressure on global inflation. Risks to the commodity price projections are tilted to the downside. A sharper-than-expected slowdown in global growth—driven by worsening trade relations or a prolonged tightening of financial conditions—could further depress commodity demand, especially for industrial products. In addition, if OPEC+ fully unwinds its voluntary supply cuts, oil production will far exceed projected consumption. There are also important upside risks to commodity prices—for instance, if geopolitical tensions worsen, threatening oil and gas supplies, or if extreme weather events lead to agricultural and energy price spikes.Publication Global Economic Prospects, June 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-06-10)The global economy is facing another substantial headwind, emanating largely from an increase in trade tensions and heightened global policy uncertainty. For emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs), the ability to boost job creation and reduce extreme poverty has declined. Key downside risks include a further escalation of trade barriers and continued policy uncertainty. These challenges are exacerbated by subdued foreign direct investment into EMDEs. Global cooperation is needed to restore a more stable international trade environment and scale up support for vulnerable countries grappling with conflict, debt burdens, and climate change. Domestic policy action is also critical to contain inflation risks and strengthen fiscal resilience. To accelerate job creation and long-term growth, structural reforms must focus on raising institutional quality, attracting private investment, and strengthening human capital and labor markets. Countries in fragile and conflict situations face daunting development challenges that will require tailored domestic policy reforms and well-coordinated multilateral support.Publication World Development Report 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-08-01)Middle-income countries are in a race against time. Many of them have done well since the 1990s to escape low-income levels and eradicate extreme poverty, leading to the perception that the last three decades have been great for development. But the ambition of the more than 100 economies with incomes per capita between US$1,100 and US$14,000 is to reach high-income status within the next generation. When assessed against this goal, their record is discouraging. Since the 1970s, income per capita in the median middle-income country has stagnated at less than a tenth of the US level. With aging populations, growing protectionism, and escalating pressures to speed up the energy transition, today’s middle-income economies face ever more daunting odds. To become advanced economies despite the growing headwinds, they will have to make miracles. Drawing on the development experience and advances in economic analysis since the 1950s, World Development Report 2024 identifies pathways for developing economies to avoid the “middle-income trap.” It points to the need for not one but two transitions for those at the middle-income level: the first from investment to infusion and the second from infusion to innovation. Governments in lower-middle-income countries must drop the habit of repeating the same investment-driven strategies and work instead to infuse modern technologies and successful business processes from around the world into their economies. This requires reshaping large swaths of those economies into globally competitive suppliers of goods and services. Upper-middle-income countries that have mastered infusion can accelerate the shift to innovation—not just borrowing ideas from the global frontiers of technology but also beginning to push the frontiers outward. This requires restructuring enterprise, work, and energy use once again, with an even greater emphasis on economic freedom, social mobility, and political contestability. Neither transition is automatic. The handful of economies that made speedy transitions from middle- to high-income status have encouraged enterprise by disciplining powerful incumbents, developed talent by rewarding merit, and capitalized on crises to alter policies and institutions that no longer suit the purposes they were once designed to serve. Today’s middle-income countries will have to do the same.Publication State and Trends of Carbon Pricing 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-06-10)This report provides an up-to-date overview of existing and emerging carbon pricing instruments around the world, including international, national and subnational initiatives. It also investigates trends surrounding the development and implementation of carbon pricing instruments. Specifically, this includes the use of carbon taxes, emissions trading systems and crediting mechanisms.Publication World Bank Annual Report 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-25)This annual report, which covers the period from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, has been prepared by the Executive Directors of both the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA)—collectively known as the World Bank—in accordance with the respective bylaws of the two institutions. Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank Group and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors, has submitted this report, together with the accompanying administrative budgets and audited financial statements, to the Board of Governors.