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International Monetary Fund. Monetary and Capital Markets Department
India’s financial system has withstood the pandemic well and has become more resilient since the 2017 FSAP. Nonbank financial institutions (NBFIs)—especially nonbank financial companies (NBFCs) providing credit with wholesale financing—and market financing have grown, making the financial system more diverse and interconnected. The role of the state has diminished, yet it remains significant, including in using the financial system to pursue social and public finance goals.
International Monetary Fund. Asia and Pacific Dept
and
International Monetary Fund. Monetary and Capital Markets Department
In August 2024, at the request of the Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan (RMA), the IMF South Asia Regional Training and Technical Assistance Center (SARTTAC) conducted a Technical Assistance (TA) mission in Thimphu. The mission aimed to assist the RMA in establishing an interest rate corridor (IRC) and operationalizing related instruments, liquidity forecasting, and collateral frameworks. The mission identified that the RMA lacks necessary monetary policy instruments to effectively address changing systemic liquidity conditions and financial stability challenges. It emphasized the need to move away from reliance on administrative controls, as the absence of appropriate price incentives reinforces the preference for foreign exchange among Bhutanese residents, increasing pressures on the peg. To tackle these issues, the mission proposed a phased approach to introduce the IRC. Initially, relevant external and internal documents should be finalized, followed by mock operations. The first phase involves introducing a one-week main Open Market Operation (OMO), conducted weekly at the policy rate with full allotment. Automatic access to the IRC's standing facilities should be ensured. Later, fixed-quantity, variable-rate OMOs should be utilized, relying on liquidity forecasting to calibrate operations. Additionally, the mission recommended reinstating sweeping arrangements for government accounts and enhancing coordination with the Treasury to improve liquidity forecasting. These measures aim to strengthen the RMA's operational framework and enhance the effectiveness of monetary policy.
International Monetary Fund. Asia and Pacific Dept
This Selected Issues paper examines monetary policy transmission via three lenses in Australia. The paper finds that while macroeconomic dynamics in Australia in the current tightening cycle have not differed significantly from historical experience and from experiences in other major AEs, the resilience of Australia’s economy in recent years is remarkable, as evidenced by persistently tight labor markets. Second, several features of the Australian housing market, most notably the high prevalence of variable rate mortgages, may strengthen monetary policy transmission to households relative to other AEs. Lastly, we find that firm investment in Australia’s nonextractive sector is strongly sensitive to monetary policy changes; the sensitivity is more pronounced for firms with less liquidity, higher leverage, and higher reliance on bank and short-term financing. We highlight how resilience in Australian corporate balance sheets in recent years may have helped soften monetary policy transmission to investment in the current cycle.
Marco Gross
and
Wei Sun
This report provides a brief summary of the purpose and findings of a technical assistance (TA) mission that was intended to review and evaluate the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s stress test model suite, which took place in April 2023. The RBI’s model suite was found to be strong and well developed in numerous respects. The most noteworthy recommendations pertain to credit risk, market risk, and macro-financial scenario design. A detailed list of 28 recommendations spanning all areas was left with the RBI. A detailed TA report accompanies this brief summary report.
Jesper Lindé
,
Patrick Schneider
,
Nujin Suphaphiphat
, and
Hou Wang
This paper analyzes the effectiveness of foreign exchange intervention (FXI) in mitigating economic and financial shocks in India by applying the Integrated Policy Framework (IPF). It highlights how FXI can be a complementary tool in mitigating the tradeoff between output and inflation, specifically under large economic shocks amid temporarily shallow FX markets. The paper indicates that while FXI can soften adverse impacts on domestic demand and output during severe risk-off shocks, its benefits under normal conditions with liquid FX markets are limited.
International Monetary Fund. Monetary and Capital Markets Department
The paper briefs the Executive Board on the further considerations on CBDC. These cover the positioning of CBDC in the payments landscape, cyber resilience of the CBDC ecosystem, CBDC adoption, CBDC data use and privacy protection, implications for monetary policy operations, and cross-border payments with retail CBDC.
International Monetary Fund. Monetary and Capital Markets Department
This report summarizes the content and findings of a technical assistance (TA) mission that was reviewing and evaluating the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s stress test model suite. The RBI’s model suite was found to be strong and well developed in numerous respects. The most noteworthy recommendations pertain to credit risk, market risk, and macro-financial scenario design. A detailed list of recommendations spanning all areas was left with the RBI.
Manisha Patel
,
Safari Kasiyanto
, and
Andre Reslow
The IMF is frequently approached by central banks seeking guidance on the balance between central bank digital currency (CBDC), fast payment systems (FPS), and electronic money (e-money) solutions. Common questions arising include: Do central banks need a CBDC when already equipped with other well-established digital payments systems? For central banks with less-developed solutions: Should central banks establish one system over the other? This discussion is then compounded by the reality of constrained resources. This note focuses on the comparison of retail CBDC—that is, the presence of digital central bank money available to the general public—with FPS and e-money systems from a payments perspective, and how CBDC may support a jurisdiction’s vision on payments in the digital age. The note does not seek to advocate for CBDC over an FPS or e-money. The balance of arguments for any one system may change over time, and the choice may not be mutually exclusive in many jurisdictions. In the future, it is possible to envisage the coexistence of an FPS, e-money, and CBDC in many payment landscapes across the world. Through good design, all three systems could meet central bank objectives such as payments efficiency and supporting financial inclusion; some benefits are unique to CBDC, such as maintaining access to central bank money in an increasingly digitalized age. While central banks will make choices unique to their circumstances, it remains important for central banks to establish a strategy that allows them (at minimum) to monitor trends and core benefits of multiple solutions as developments occur, to allow them to plan, adapt, and drive developments in their payments landscape.
Tayo Tunyathon Koonprasert
,
Shiho Kanada
,
Natsuki Tsuda
, and
Edona Reshidi
Among the countries that have launched central bank digital currency (CBDC) or are conducting large-scale pilots, adoption remains slow and limited due to various challenges such as lack of public awareness and trust, preference for existing payment methods, and inadequate incentives for intermediaries. Central banks cannot take it for granted that CBDC, once launched, will be adopted and scaled up easily. Forming part of the CBDC Virtual Handbook, this paper aims to encourage policymakers to consider CBDC adoption early on, by arguing that successful CBDC adoption hinges not only on technical readiness and operational robustness, but also on strategic policy and design choices that target end-user and intermediary involvement from the outset. The paper introduces The REDI Framework which outlines various regulatory strategies, education/communication initiatives, design/deployment choices, and incentive mechanisms to prepare for CBDC adoption.
Enrique Flores
,
Pranav Gupta
,
Yinqiu Lu
,
Paulo A Medas
,
Dinar Prihardini
,
Hoda Selim
,
Weining Xin
, and
Masafumi Yabara
This paper seeks to guide the reform of fiscal frameworks in Asia-Pacific in the context of calls for a more active fiscal policy in a shock-prone world. It highlights that the cost of fiscal support is large and that fiscal frameworks, including fiscal rules, are being put to the test given the sharp increase in debt, high interest and weaker growth prospects. The stress is only compounded by long-term challenges like aging populations, climate change and the need to deliver on the sustainable development goals. In this context, it is timely to review the effectiveness of fiscal policy in Asia-Pacific and seek for ways to strengthen fiscal frameworks. After the global financial crisis, fiscal policy in Asia-Pacific became more countercylical and stronger than in other regions—especially in advanced economies. The paper shows that the degree of countercyclicality has been asymetric, with larger responses during periods of weak growth, and in particular in response to large shocks—the global financial crisis and the pandemic. It highlights that responses to the pandemic were large and used a wide range of tools, and how fiscal and monetary policy complemented each as they responded to large shocks. It looks into the deterioration of debt dynamics in Asia-Pacific, as public debt has been rising persistently across most countries driven by declining growth and rising deficits—particualrly after the global financial crisis for advanced economies and after the pandemic for emerging market and low income countries. The paper reviews fiscal frameworks across Asia-Pacific, including the use of fiscal rules, medium-term fiscal frameworks, and fiscal councils. It describes the characteristics of fiscal rules, which usually focus on debt and budget balances and are set by law but tend to lack well-specified enforcement mechanism or escape clauses. It highlights that compliance with the rules has worsened following the pandemic as—in contrast with the outturns before the pandemic--Asia-Pacific countries tend to show larger deviations relative to other regions. It also shows that despite the increase adoption of medium-term fiscal frameworks in Asia-Pacific forward guidance has been hampered by the lack of binding targets and ex-post analysis. Moreover, they do not seem to have resulted in better macro-fiscal forecast in part due to weak capacity and enforcement, lack of integration with the annual budget, and exposure to shocks—with risk analysis mostly limited to qualitative discussions. Proposed reforms seek to implement a comprehensive, risk-based approach to public finances. They focus on strengthening the medium-term orientation of fiscal policy through credible medium-term fiscal plans, fiscal rules linked to the medium-term strategy and the annual budgets, and a stronger reliance on fiscal councils. They also emphasize the need for a broader view of the public sector as fiscal policy is being conducted through multiple channels, which requires assessing and managing vulnerabilities and a significant improvement in fiscal statistics. They also address aging and climate change by focusing on assessing large intergenerational trade-offs, reporting on long-term debt dynamics, and on green medium-term fiscal frameworks that incorporate the effects of climate change and climate policies.