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Asset Management at Central Banks and Monetary Authorities

New Practices in Managing International Foreign Exchange Reserves

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  • © 2020

Overview

  • Systematic views of best asset management practices at central banks across the globe
  • Brings a long-neglected central bank activity to the forefront of public and private sector interest
  • Edited by a senior public sector professional with deep insights into central banking and its reserve management practices

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Table of contents (27 chapters)

  1. Mandate, Balance Sheet and Reserves

  2. Domestic and Foreign Currency Assets

  3. The Investment Decision Making Process

  4. Asset Allocation in a New Context

Keywords

About this book

In response to the Global Financial Crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, central banks have used all available instruments in their monetary policy tool-kit to avoid financial market disruptions and a collapse in real economic activities. These actions have expanded the size of their balance sheets and altered the composition of the asset-side. This edited book highlights how these assets are managed, providing an intellectual and practical contribution to an under-researched field of central bank responsibilities. It first reviews the sources and uses of domestic and international assets and how they complement—or possibly conflict with—the implementation of monetary policy goals. Next, the book examines the asset management mandate in a balance sheet context before turning to the investment decision-making process from strategic and tactical asset allocation to investment strategies, risk management, governance, reporting and control. Finally, it presents new developments in the field of managing assets at central banks. The individual chapters are written by central bankers, academics, and representatives from International Financial Institutions, each representing a particular aspect of the asset management practice.

Practical and powerful insights from a hall of fame of investors, central bankers and scholars, are packed into this one volume. If you could have only one book on central bank asset management, this would be it. —Peter R. Fisher, Clinical Professor, Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth


Jacob Bjorheim draws on his long experience in sovereign asset management to pull together a rich collection of insights from a broad range of expertise. Asset management at central banks has evolved and expanded considerably over the past decade. This book is a timely source of information and guidance. —Guy Debelle, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of Australia


Central bank balancesheets have grown at a tremendous pace over the last decade and a half. Drawing on contributions from scholars and experienced central bankers from around the world, this timely and insightful book sheds light on how central banks are, and should be, managing their growing balance sheets. —Kjell G. Nyborg, Chaired Professor of Finance, University of Zurich, Author of Collateral Frameworks: The Open Secret of Central Banks


Central banks and monetary authorities are charged with, and being held accountable for, managing portfolios of foreign currency assets of unprecedented size. The essays in this admirable book, written by some of the worlds most highly experienced officials, cover the full range of why and how this is currently being done and how new developments are affecting old practices. Interesting conceptually and immensely useful practically. —William White, Senior Fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute, former Head of the Monetary and Economic Department with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and chairman of the Economic and Development Review Committee at the OECD


An excellent and timely review of modern international reserve management, which ought to be read by everyone working with, or simply interested in, international asset management and finance as well as monetary and economic policy. The spectrum of authors is broad and their combined insight is very valuable. —Tom A. Fearnley, Investment Director, Norwegian Ministry of Finance


With “Asset Management at Central Banks and Monetary Authorities”, Jacob Bjorheim has achieved an editorial tour de force. The book assembles the insightful views of the leading experts in the field, both from an academic and practitioners’ perspective. It bridges the gap between the macroeconomics of central banks and the financial management of their reserves. A must read to understand how central banks are special in the group of institutional investors. —Eric Bouyé, Head of Asset Allocation and Quantitative Strategies, Treasury Department, The World Bank


The balance sheet is a large and important toolbox for any central bank and specifically the foreign exchange reserves constitute one the more powerful of these tools. This book provides excellent insight in the various perspectives of managing reserves at a central bank. —Heidi Elmér, Director of Markets Department, Severiges Riksbank


The world of international reserves has changed since the global financial crisis. In this volume, Jacob Bjorheim has assembled a stellar cast of experts to explain how and what that means for reserves management. With chapter authors like Andrew Ang, Jennifer Johnson-Calari, Robert McCauley, Ravi Menon, Simon Potter and Philip Turner, it is a book that every reserve manager must read. —Eli Remolona, Professor of Finance and Director of Central Banking, Asia School of Business in collaboration with MIT Sloan


Jacob Bjorheim has succeeded in bringing together a first-class team of experts, and organising their contributions in an articulated journey from the central banks’ policy mandate to their asset management practices. An indispensable post-crisis update of the subject and a a required reading for anyone professionally involved with central bank’s asset management, or simply curious about a topic benefitting otherwise from limited research. —Louis de Montpellier, Former Global Head, Official Institutions Group, SSGA, and former Deputy Head, Banking Department, Bank for International Settlements (BIS), Basel


At last, a book that shares with a wider audience, deep insight in a unique, challenging and ethical approach of asset management developed and implemented in the secretive world of central banks. If you wonder how to manage funds that stand ready for use at short notice in times of stress then this book is for you. Two features make it such a valuable read and a must-have reference: First, the very comprehensive list of themes covered from a rich diversity of angles. Second, the very impressive list of prominent institutions and authors that have contributed and shared their analysis and practical approaches of the issues presented. What is better than to get the information directly from first-hand practitioners, experts and managers themselves in their own words? —Jean-Pierre Matt, Former Head of Financial Analysis at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and founder of Quanteis


This book holds the promise to become the go-to guide for anyone wishing to learn more about the management of official foreign exchange reserves. Central bankers in particular, but also those providing services to central banks, will find benefit from the broad scope in subject matter and varied perspectives being presented. I amyet to see a compendium on official reserve management with similar reach in subject matter. —Leon Myburgh, Former Head Financial Markets Department, South African Reserve Bank (SARB), Pretoria


This is an immensely timely book at a time when central bank operations, and their balance sheets, remain “larger for longer”. Following the Financial Crisis 10 years ago, and with the Covid-19 Recession about to break, central bank balance sheets are at the forefront of the authorities’ response to economic issues as never before.  Yet the management of their now large-scale assets remains a little known and little studied area. The authors of this book combine extensive technical and practical experience, and their observations will fill an important gap in the literature at a critical time. —Freyr Hermannsson, Former Head of Treasury, Central Bank of Iceland, Reykjavík



Reviews

“This excellent book fills a critical gap that has existed since the IMF guidelines were revised. It offers important insights and learning for those interested in the practicalities of asset management, how that is evolving and may continue to change, and the interface between the operation of monetary policy and the financial management of official asset portfolios.” (Graeme Wheeler, Central Banking, centralbanking.com, February 18, 2021)

Editors and Affiliations

  • University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland

    Jacob Bjorheim

About the editor

Jacob Bjorheim is a Lecturer at the University of Basel in the Faculty of Business and Economics, a Visiting Fellow in the Department of Banking and Finance at the University of Zurich and a member of the Investment Committee at the CERN Pension Fund in Geneva. Previously, from 2007 to 2017, he was Head of Asset Management at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS): He holds a PhD from London School of Economics and is a CFA charterholder.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Asset Management at Central Banks and Monetary Authorities

  • Book Subtitle: New Practices in Managing International Foreign Exchange Reserves

  • Editors: Jacob Bjorheim

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-43457-1

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: Economics and Finance, Economics and Finance (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-43456-4Published: 08 September 2020

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-43459-5Published: 09 September 2021

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-43457-1Published: 07 September 2020

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XXIX, 484

  • Number of Illustrations: 27 b/w illustrations, 123 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Macroeconomics/Monetary Economics//Financial Economics, Banking, Investment Appraisal, Risk Management

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