The OMFIF Podcast

Pushing for transparency in transition finance

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.

Rethinking long-term growth in an ageing world

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.

Solving cross-border transactions with CBDCs’

Despite improvements in domestic payments, cross-border payments remain too slow and expensive for end users, particularly in emerging market economies. Daniel Nagy, business analyst, CBDC at Giesecke+Devrient, joins Lewis McLellan, editor of OMFIF’s Digital Monetary Institute, to discuss how central bank digital currencies might help address the challenges of the cross-border payments market. Daniel describes the workshops and discussions G+D has conducted with central banks on the challenges and opportunities of deploying a CBDC as a cross-border solution and explores some of the different approaches central banks are taking to the problem. He also sheds light on the potential macro-financial implications of cross-border CBDCs.

Unpacking Ecuador’s pioneering debt-for-nature swap

Joan Prats, lead financial specialist at the Inter-American Development Bank, joins Burhan Khadbai, head of content at OMFIF’s Sovereign Debt Institute, to examine Ecuador’s recent debt-for-nature swap.

They cover the highlights of the transaction, including the new credit enhancement structure and record size, the important role the IADB played in the deal and the challenges this product faces.

Central bank reserve management: from inflation fears to sustainability trends

Feeling the heat of high inflation and weakening global growth, central bank reserve managers are steering the investment world through stormy seas. Max Castelli, head of strategy and advice, global sovereign markets at UBS Asset Management, joins Taylor Pearce, senior economist at OMFIF, to discuss the investment landscape for reserve managers, currency and asset allocation strategies and the pressure to weave geopolitics, sustainability and other factors into investment decisions.

Charting the future of money

Technology is causing rapid changes in how we use money, with private and public solutions competing and catalysing each other’s developments. Editor of the Digital Monetary Institute, Lewis McLellan, is joined by Douglas Elliott, partner at Oliver Wyman, and Larissa de Lima, senior fellow at the Oliver Wyman Forum, to discuss their views on the evolving paradigm for the future of money.

Helping Ukraine to fight back

Vladyslav Rashkovan, Ukraine's representative for the International Monetary Fund and former deputy governor of the National Bank of Ukraine, discusses the country’s economic and financial situation. While Ukraine valiantly fights Russia on the battlefield, it also must maintain a viably functioning economy. Over the last year, Ukraine has made significant progress on economic stabilisation with western support. Such support must continue. Reconstruction costs will be high. 

In conversation with the United Nations: Policy, regulation and technology to support sustainable energy efficiency

Catalysing energy efficiency and security, while scaling clean energy production and increasing decarbonisation has been high on policy-makers’ agendas. This podcast discusses how the United Nations is working to converge regulatory and policy frameworks to support this, the tools and classifications required and the latest criteria and technological developments. This conversation will also discuss how to scale growth and economic development, while responsibly using natural resources and scaling up of capital to support renewable energy.

Artificial intelligence: promises and risks to the macroeconomy

How is artificial intelligence impacting economies, political environments, financial markets and misinformation? In this podcast, Julian Jacobs, senior economist, OMFIF, interviews Darrell West, senior fellow, the Brookings Institution, to discuss the promises and perils that may emerge as countries embrace AI. What are the policy challenges and how can governments work to counter them? This podcast will discuss the implications of AI on economic inequality, productivity growth, central banking, financial stability and misinformation amid the rise of large language models.

Darrell West is a senior fellow for Brookings' Center for Technology Innovation within the Governance Studies program and a co-editor-in-chief of TechTank. West is the former vice-president and director of Governance Studies. His current research focuses on artificial intelligence, robotics and the future of work. West is also director of the John Hazen White Manufacturing Initiative. Prior to joining Brookings, he was the John Hazen White Professor of Political Science and Public Policy and director of the Taubman Center for Public Policy at Brown University.

What can public finance management teach the green bond market?

Though generally treated as separate, the qualities of good management of public spending – transparency, efficiency, high quality impact assessment – have much in common with the qualities encouraged in sustainable finance. Editor of the Digital Monetary Institute Lewis McLellan is joined by Eila Kreivi, European Investment Bank’s chief sustainable finance adviser, Alex Caridia, RBC’s head of public sector markets, and Mark MacDonald, EY’s global lead for public finance management, to discuss the similarities between the two areas and how technological developments are impacting both.