Oct 19, 2022

Autumn Brings Several Learning Opportunities for Central Bank Officials

This fall we successfully delivered several learning activities for officials working at regional central banks and financial supervisory authorities. We discussed important developments and lessons learned in the areas of on-site banking supervision, accounting and financial reporting, and monetary policy. We complemented the program of the events with officials presenting practices implemented in their institutions.

During the On-Site Banking Supervision workshop, we addressed on-site supervision by focusing on practical elements typically encountered by supervisors at their work. Our colleagues Matija Čarman and Ana Frangež Kerševan worked closely with Arnaud Lauwers and Roel Braes from the National Bank of Belgium and with Pavla Kostribova from the European Central Bank to design a workshop program that addressed the nature of on-site inspections holistically. By engaging in case study learning participants first developed the scope of on-site inspection, described how they would perform the on-site inspection, and finally presented the findings of their on-site mission. During this group work, we also explored how participants can convey the findings of their work clearly and concisely and discussed strategies for giving meaningful feedback and remaining comfortable when giving difficult feedback. Participants appreciated we complemented the technical aspects of the supervisor’s work with sessions that gave them an opportunity to enhance their leadership and communication skills. The latter are equally important - yet often neglected - for supervisors to successfully perform in their professional roles. 

Our next learning event gathered 32 officials from 17 central banks to discuss how accounting contributes to the transparent, accountable, and efficient implementation of core central banking operations. During the Accounting and Financial Reporting for Central Banks workshop that was facilitated by our colleague Jovana Koloski we explored examples of good practices in different central banks around the region and wider. Lea Solčányi and Lenka Marko from the National Bank of Slovakia talked about accounting organization and financial reporting process in their institution. Francois Biquet, Benoit Clinchemaillie, and Bart van Heghe from the National Bank of Belgium shared how their bank implemented Eurosystem accounting rules and cost accounting. In addition, Tamara Gavrić from Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina spoke about the implementation of IFRS standard, Vesna Filipovska from the National Bank of North Macedonia presented the practical case planning process implementation, and Faton Ahmetaj from the Central Bank of Kosovo shared their experience on implementation of IFRS9 standard. 

Finally, our colleague Bensu Govsa Tulgar facilitated a webinar discussion on Eurosystem monetary policy implementation. Together with Cilka Ferjančič from the Banka Slovenije (Bank of Slovenia) we addressed the conduct of monetary policy within the Eurosystem and how it is implemented through national central banks. We also discussed the lessons learned in recent years and looked at the current conditions of rising interest rates that follow the period of low and negative interest rates. During this webinar, Ms. Ferjančič presented the Eurosystem’s balance sheet and liquidity conditions and opened the floor for a discussion regarding possible future scenarios that can shape monetary policy responses, including the implications of climate change for the conduct of monetary policy in the euro area.