Central Bank Governance: The role of the Board

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INTRODUCTION

Discusses key legal issues in the design of Board Oversight in central banks. Central banks are complex and sophisticated organizations that are challenging to manage. While most economic literature focuses on decision-making in the context of monetary policy formulation, this paper focuses on the Board oversight of central banks—a central feature of sound governance.

This form of oversight is the decision-making responsibility through which an internal body of the central bank—the Oversight Board—ensures that the central bank is well-managed. First, it will contextualize the role of Board oversight into the broader legal structure for central bank governance by considering this form of oversight as one of the core decision-making responsibilities of central banks. Secondly, the paper will focus on a number of important legal design issues for Board Oversight, by contrasting the current practices.

Course Objectives

  • The board has ultimate responsibility for the bank’s business strategy and financial soundness, key personnel decisions, internal organisation and governance structure and practices, and risk management and compliance obligations.
  • A central bank is an independent national authority that conducts monetary policy, regulates banks, and provides financial services including economic research. Its goals are to stabilize the nation’s currency, keep unemployment low, and prevent inflation.
  • To ensure sound and effective decision-making, central banks need to have robust governance arrangements
  • ensuring that overall management is appropriate, compliant with legal requirements, and financially and operationally sound.
  • will focus on important legal design variables that provide a robust legal foundation for effective Board oversight