Central Banking is pleased to announce the third round of winners of its 6^th annual industry awards recognising excellence in the central banking community.

• Economics in Central Banking: Greg Kaplan, Benjamin Moll and Gianluca Violante
• Website of the Year: Sveriges Riksbank
• Risk Manager: Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority
• Risk Management Technology: Vermeg
• Professional Services Initiative: World Gold Council
• Treasury Systems Initiative: Ion Treasury
• Advisory Services: Deloitte
• Data Services: Vizor Software

Drawing on 29 years of independent and informed reporting, analysis and comment, the Central Banking Awards were judged by a panel comprising members of the Central Banking Editorial Team and Editorial Advisory Board.

A brief description detailing the rationale for the awards as well as reaction comments from the Governors of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authorityand Sveriges Riksbank, Economists Greg Kaplan, Benjamin Moll and Gianluca Violante, the Chief Executives of Vermeg and Vizor, a Managing Director of the World Gold Council, the Global Banking and Capital Markets Sector Leader at Deloitte, and Senior Executive of Ioncan be found by scrolling down.

Economics in Central Banking: Greg Kaplan, Benjamin Moll and Gianluca Violante

Research by economists Greg Kaplan (University of Chicago), Benjamin Moll (Princeton University) and Giovanni Luca Violante (Princeton University) – in particular, their Monetary policy according to Hank paper – has broken new ground in understanding the transmission of monetary policy. As well as helping to add realism to key macroeconomic models, their work highlights the importance of inequality in the transmission of monetary policy – one of the most pressing issues in current political discourse.

Kaplan, Moll and Violante said in a joint statement: “We are honoured to receive this prestigious award. The prize recognises the importance of income and wealth inequality for monetary economics. There are two main takeaways from our research. First, the transmission of monetary policy to the real economy depends crucially on the distribution of income, assets and liabilities across households. Second, central bank actions can impact these distributions and thus affect household inequality. Our paper is just a first step towards a full understanding of this two-way feedback between monetary policy and inequality. We are excited to see that central banks around the world have begun to incorporate these ideas into their economic models, and hope that this trend will continue.”

Christopher Jeffery, Chairman of the Central Banking Awards Committee and Editor-in-chief of Central Banking, said: “The paper by Kaplan, Moll and Violante, Monetary policy according to Hank, represents an important effort to boost the realism of some core economic models, delivering important insights into inequality and the transmission of monetary policy. It has the potential to be an important trigger to spur central banks to do more to weigh up the redistributive consequences of their actions.”

Website: Sveriges Riksbank

The Sveriges Riksbank has had to communicate complex issues – financial stability tools, forward guidance, quantitative easing and negative policy rates, among others – that test the relationship between a central bank and its stakeholders. The Riksbank has met these challenges by speaking plainly, openly and frequently, and by continually adapting its communication tools to ensure its messages are heard. At the heart of this is its website, which has evolved continually, with its latest redesign in 2018 making its content easier to access and digest. Gone are the days of tables and dropdown menus; instead, the Riksbank has deployed new interactive elements and a much cleaner user interface. In doing so, it has maintained its position at the forefront of the central banking community.

Stefan Ingves, Governor of the Sveriges Riksbank, said: “I am very happy and proud of the prize and our creative team. The Riksbank has a responsibility to communicate the changes we see and how we work towards solutions that are in the best interest of the general public. It is therefore very pleasing that our website, riksbank.se, is receiving this award for providing accessible content in a simple and efficient way.”

Christopher Jeffery, Chairman of the Central Banking Awards Committee and Editor-in-chief of Central Banking, said: “The Swedish central bank is a trailblazer in the area of central bank transparency and website communication. In 2018, it restructured and redesigned its website to cater to a full range of users to great effect, with visitors staying longer and engaging with more content.”

Risk Manager: Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority

The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority first embarked on overhauling its risk management systems in 2015. The result has been a radical change in behaviour, practices and procedures. Directors now have access to real-time risk profiles, allowing for staff to be immediately alerted to big changes in risk positions, so offering the potential to take remedial actions. Risks that had been overlooked or overestimated in the past are now less likely to slip through the net, putting the central bank on a surer footing from both a reputational and financial standpoint.

Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority Governor, Ahmed Abdulkarim Alkholifey, said: “We are proud that the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority has been granted the 2019 Risk Manager Award in view of the considerable attention paid to risk management in all its works in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 in achieving its strategic objectives. SAMA has been coping with the enormous changes taking place in the Saudi financial and monetary system, and the risks arising thereof. SAMA has always ensured it has set appropriate procedures to reduce such risks and establish an effective risk culture at all levels of work.”

Christopher Jeffery, Chairman of the Central Banking Awards Committee and Editor-in-chief of Central Banking, said: “After several years of work, SAMA’s new highly customised risk management system has started to bear fruit, resulting in radical changes in behaviour, thanks to the access of real-time risk profiles and automated reporting. This work is highlighted by SAMA addressing important risks that emerged in its investment department.” 

Risk Management Technology: Vermeg

In 2018, Vermeg successfully deployed the collateral management module of its Megara system to four major central banks. But its successes did not stop there. The past 12 months also saw the company awarded the contract to deliver technology for Europe’s Collateral Management System, which will modernise the Eurosystem’s framework over the next four years. Vermeg also acquired reporting and collateral management specialist Lombard Risk, almost doubling its revenues and extending its client base.

Badreddine Ouali, chief executive of Vermeg, said: “We are pleased to be named the Risk Management Technology award-winner for this year’s Central Banking Awards. We are constantly developing and innovating our products across the board, and are pleased to be recognised for this in the industry and for our work in the central banking space. We’ll continue to work on addressing the key challenges our clients face. And in particular, we look forward to playing a leading role in the development of the Eurosystem Collateral Management System over the coming years.”

Christopher Jeffery, Chairman of the Central Banking Awards Committee and Editor-in-chief of Central Banking, said: “The past year has been a very successful one for Vermeg, which has increased its global presence through acquisitions and winning high-profile contracts that are set to result in significant change in collateral management in Europe.”

Professional Services Initiative: World Gold Council

Monetary gold has never been fully defined in international accounting standards, but in February 2018, the World Gold Council published guidance for monetary authorities on a recommended practice for consistent accounting of monetary gold. The guidance is not meant to replace existing standards, but includes instructions for integration within a general-purpose accounting framework. Managing the objectives of central banks, auditors and standard-setters is no easy feat, but the WGC has persisted with its efforts – which could help to improve transparency and help protect central bank independence – with positive results.

Natalie Dempster, Managing Director, Central Banks and Public Policy, at the World Gold Council, said: “We are delighted to be the recipient of the inaugural Professional Services Initiative award. We are encouraged that the importance of providing a common framework that will help monetary authorities recognise and account for monetary gold in an appropriate and consistent manner has been acknowledged, as this is a key issue for many central banks themselves.”

Christopher Jeffery, Chairman of the Central Banking Awards Committee and Editor-in-chief of Central Banking, said: “Having identified seven different ways of accounting for monetary gold among 70 central banks, the WGC has developed guidance to bring greater consistency to accounting practices, and has already secured its first convert.”

Advisory Services: Deloitte

The past few years have seen major growth in Deloitte’s advisory business with central banks, complementing its well-known role as auditor. Over the past year, the firm has undertaken important projects at several leading central banks, including reforms to central banking operations, enhancing resiliency, and fostering a culture of innovation at the Bank of Canada, the development of a blockchain-based trade finance system for the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the launch of a fintech hub in Saudi Arabia. A key strength cited by clients is Deloitte’s combination of central banking expertise with technological know-how.

Anna Celner, Deloitte’s Global Banking and Capital Markets Sector Leader, said: “It is both an honour and a privilege to be recognised by Central Banking Publications as best in class, and I thank Deloitte’s clients and industry colleagues for their support and recognition of Deloitte’s people.”

Karen Grieve, Global Operations Leader, Sovereign Financial Institutions, Deloitte Global, said: “It is an honour for Deloitte’s central banking practices to be recognised as the standard of excellence in advisory services to central banks. Deloitte has built a central banking network with member firm representatives in more than 125 countries to serve clients. Deloitte’s success is the result of practitioners’ technical and regulatory knowledge, combined with Deloitte’s deep understanding of the central banking sector and the ability to provide a wide range of services and innovative solutions to meet clients’ needs.”

Christopher Jeffery, Chairman of the Central Banking Awards Committee and Editor-in-chief of Central Banking, said: “Deloitte has a growing central bank footprint, including new projects on strategy and cyber resilience in Canada, fintech in Saudi Arabia and DLT in Hong Kong.”

Treasury Systems Initiative: Ion Treasury

Ion has maintained its dominance in the treasury sector throughout 2018, due in large part to its acquisition of Openlink, which beat many of its competitors to supply the European Central Bank’s new treasury management system. Wallstreet Suite and Openlink will continue to operate as separate products under common ownership, but both could benefit from the broader integration, with enhancements under way on both sides.

Rich Grossi, Ion Senior Executive, said: “Being honoured for the second year in a row is not only a testament to our continuing partnership with our clients, but also Openlink’s dedication to using technology to empower central banks to rapidly enact economic and monetary policy changes.” 

Christopher Jeffery, Chairman of the Central Banking Awards Committee and Editor-in-chief of Central Banking, said: “The combination of Ion’s Wall Street Systems and Openlink will undoubtedly establish Ion as a powerful force in the treasury tech sector for official institutions for some years to come. The company now counts 39 central banks and 26 agencies among its ballooning client base, with Openlink’s new ECB contract being a ‘jewel in its crown’.”

Data services: Vizor Software

Vizor won this award for supporting supervisors in coping with an ever-growing volume and complexity of data. The company has overhauled its system to make it easier to configure and improve the user interface, backing this up with an enhanced mentoring programme to help smaller institutions learn to make full use of the platform. The system is underpinned by a ‘rules engine’ that signals possible anomalies – and this, too, has been made easier to manage, helping central banks and other financial authorities to tailor the platform to their needs. Vizor also won important repeat business from two of its major central bank clients.

Conor Crowley, Vizor’s chief executive, said: “Vizor is delighted to be recognised again this year by the Central Banking Awards Committee. Winning the Data Services Award is a testimony to the success our customers have achieved with major supervision system upgrades over the last year. These projects show the value of higher-quality data and the significant cost savings achieved with each new or modified data collection.”

 Christopher Jeffery, Chairman of the Central Banking Awards Committee and Editor-in-chief of Central Banking, said: “Vizor’s roll-out of major updates has paved the way for more agile supervision, as its scalable system secured major repeat business with SAMA and the Bank of England.”