Invested: The OMFIF Podcast

The cryptoasset class, while battered by scams and scandals, remains a valuable and exciting asset class. But if regulated mainstream financial institutions are to interact with it seriously, they need high-quality infrastructure. Duncan Trenholme and Simon Forster, TP ICAP's global co-heads of digital assets join Digital Monetary Institute editor, Lewis McLellan, to discuss the importance of trusted institutional relationships when investing in the cryptoasset ecosystem.

In this OMFIF podcast, Vítor Constâncio, former governor of the Banco de Portugal and vice president of the European Central Bank from 2010-18, joins Ellie Groves, managing director, Economic and Monetary Policy Institute at OMFIF. They discuss the ECB’s September rate hike, the macroeconomic environment in Europe – including the difference in inflation between Portugal and Germany – and the fiscal framework that needs to be implemented to combat challenges.

Marcela Pumarino, people manager at Banco Central de Chile, joins Arunima Sharan, senior research analyst at OMFIF, to discuss the ways in which central banks can work improve gender balance in leadership positions within the financial sector. They delve into some of the specific policies that Banco Central de Chile has adopted to promote gender equality, and the importance of having diversity in leadership roles more broadly in the financial sector.

How are technology giants preparing for artificial intelligence disruption? Preliminary evidence suggests that AI will improve productivity growth considerably, therefore boosting standards of living through innovations across major industries. Yet, it also seems likely to spur growing inequality while also presenting serious safety risks. In this podcast with Microsoft’s Greg Wilson, world wide public sector chief technology officer, OMFIF discusses how one of the world’s AI leaders are preparing for artificial intelligence’s benefits and potential risks to the global economy.

Chad Harper, global payments fellow of Visa Economic Empowerment Institute, joins Katie-Ann Wilson, managing director of OMFIF’s Digital Monetary Institute, to discuss the VEEI’s new research on the importance of choice and trade-offs when looking at digital remittances. They discuss key trends in the global costs of remittances as well as the progress that is being made towards the G20 targets. They also touch on the pandemic’s impact on remittances and what more the public and private sector can do to promote choice and transparency.

The power of choice: Options and trade-offs for digital remittances

Further reading from the Visa Economic Empowerment Institute:

Let’s give a voice to end users: Cross-border payments, attributes, and use cases

The economic empowerment of digital remittances: How to unlock the benefits of innovation and competition

In the last year, central banks across the world have been forced to navigate persistent inflation, suppressed growth and heightened geopolitical tensions. However, these forces have been most apparent for reserve managers in Africa. Compounded with the lingering effects of the pandemic, reserves saw the greatest decrease in international reserve levels in 2022 and urged many countries into seeking further multilateral support. This has raised concerns around the adequacy of reserves in the region and the capacity of countries to withstand further protracted shocks.  

Nikhil Sanghani, managing director of research, and Edward Maling, research analyst, discuss how these challenges are influencing reserve managers’ long-term strategies. Delving into the regional findings from OMFIF’s Global Public Investor 2023 survey, they discuss how the uncertain outlook is affecting reserve managers’ asset allocation decisions, appetite for further diversification and will take stock of their progress towards environmental, social and governance integration.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has successfully completed an experimental green bond issuance through Goldman Sachs’ digital asset platform — the bank’s tokenisation system. While the bond successfully raised $800m for the green bond programme, it was more noteworthy as the first tokenised green bond issued by a government. Kenneth Hui, executive director, external, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, and Rosie Hampson, executive director, digital assets, Goldman Sachs, joined Digital Monetary Institute editor Lewis McLellan to discuss the benefits that tokenisation offers for the green bond market and the challenges they overcame in delivering the deal.

Oliver Berger, head of Middle East & Africa at State Street Corporation, joins Taylor Pearce, senior economist at OMFIF, to discuss the key findings of the ‘Central banks in the digital age: bringing data into focus’ report. They explore the macro factors driving IT transformations in central banks and how central banks are approaching this, the challenges and opportunities of big data for reserve management and technological and enterprise-wide solutions.

Simone Utermarck, director, sustainable finance, International Capital Market Association, joins Emma McGarthy, head, Sustainable Policy Institute, OMFIF, to discuss updated ICMA’s guidance on climate transition finance, transition bond issuances and greenwashing concerns linked to transition finance.

They cover the role the ICMA is playing in driving transition finance, what issuers need to consider with transition bonds and other types of sustainable products and explore how we can strive for better transparency of the sustainable capital markets.

We have entered a new demographic paradigm. Birth rates have declined in many countries, while advancements in healthcare have led to longer life expectancies. As societies age, a range of economic dimensions are affected, from labour markets and productivity to public finances and social welfare systems. Join Nikhil Sanghani, managing director of research, and Taylor Pearce, senior economist at OMFIF, as they discuss some of the key findings from the Summer 2023 Bulletin.