Expert Meeting on Good Governance and Transparency: fostering the modernization of central banks and their adaptation to the external environment

Inauguration and opening of the meeting

Beltrán de Ramón, General Manager of the Central Bank of Chile, gave the welcome speech to the Meeting of Experts on Good Governance and Transparency in Central Banks.

Additionally, Jaime Herrero, Deputy Secretary General and DGA of the Bank of Spain and Roberto Marino, Advisor to the General Director of CEMLA gave opening remarks to the Meeting. They noted that it is critical that central banks have the ability to cope with the new and ever-changing global environment and continue their operations despite crises or moments of uncertainty. In this regard, they stressed that governance and transparency serve as an anchor for central banks to clearly communicate the way forward to achieve their fundamental objective of maintaining price stability and thereby supporting economic growth.

They considered that the objective of this meeting is to provide a common framework for reflection to analyze, among the different representatives of the participating central banks, what are the models to follow and the best experiences acquired in the governance of a central bank in the current environment.

They highlighted the presence of a significant number of experts on the subject of good governance and transparency in central banks from various regions of the world such as Latin America, North America, Europe and Asia.

They also pointed out that the various speakers from central banks with extensive experience in the field, as well as external experts of recognized international prestige, will explain the keys to the current global situation and the adaptation that central banks should seek taking into account this adverse external environment.

The first session, "Corporate Governance Challenges in Changing Environments. Strategic Planning as a Mobilizing Tool", was given by Beltrán de Ramón, General Manager of the Central Bank of Chile. His presentation was about the strategic plan of the Central Bank of Chile 2023-2027.  He highlighted the strategic objectives: To keep annual inflation around the 3% target most of the time. Preserve the efficient and secure functioning of financial systems. Contribute to the development of efficient and inclusive means of payment. Provide statistics that support decision-making in the economic and financial spheres. To be an institution committed to the community.

In the second session, Objectives of the meeting: Evolution of the governance and functions of Central Banks in the light of the external environment. Main Challenges was led by Jaime Herrero, Deputy Secretary General and DGA of the Bank of Spain. His presentation addressed the topics of:1. The Governance of Public Institutions, 2. Analysis of the external environment; 3. Evolution of the configuration and functions of central banks, 4. Challenges and future objectives of central banks. He also commented on the main advances made by Central Banks in recent years: Greater independence of action. Better definition and execution of its functions.  Greater coordination on monetary, exchange rate, financial stability, banking and payments sector supervision. Increased efforts in terms of transparency and communication.  Relevance of the modernization and technological transformation of central banks.

The third session was a Panel: "Functions of Central Banks and Relations with Third Parties", moderated by Roberto Marino, Advisor to the General Director of CEMLA, accompanied by the following panelists:

Aloisio Tupinambá, Deputy Director of the Central Bank of Brazil. He gave a presentation on the Office of the Ombudsman at the Central Bank of Brazil.

Liziane Castilhos, Deputy Head of the Government Secretariat, made a presentation regarding the Strategic Articulation and Monitoring of the Central Bank of Brazil.

Claudia Tapia Rangel, Head of the Transparency Unit of the Bank of Mexico.  She gave a presentation on the Evolution of Transparency at Banco de México from 1996 to 2023. 

Débora Sztarcsevszky, Manager of the General Secretariat of the Central Bank of Uruguay. She gave a presentation: Transparency in the Central Bank of Uruguay.

Xavier Pérez de la Puente, National Intendant of Risks and Studies, of the Superintendence of Banks of Ecuador, made a presentation regarding transparency in the Central Bank of Ecuador.

The fourth session was a Panel: Strategic Planning and Modernization of Organizations moderated by Cristián González Quijada, Manager of the Accounting Management and Planning of the Central Bank of Chile, accompanied by the following panelists:

Liziane Castilhos, Deputy Head of the Secretariat of Government, Articulation and Strategic Monitoring of the Central Bank of Brazil. She presented the Strategic Map 2020 – 2025 of the Central Bank of Brazil.

Jacobo Leonel Carranza Flores, Head of the Strategic Planning Section of the Central Bank of Honduras.  He presented the 2022-2026 Strategic Plan, BCH.

José Chaves Mesén, Director of the Quality and Continuous Improvement Department of the Central Bank of Costa Rica. He presented the BCCR's Transformation Process.

Débora Sztarcsevszky, Manager of the General Secretariat of the Central Bank of Uruguay. She presented the 2021-2025 Strategic Plan of the Central Bank of Uruguay.

The fifth session was a special intervention, referring to the Technological Challenges of Central Banks.

The sixth session was a Panel: Transformation of business models and was moderated by Jaime Herrero, Deputy Secretary General and DGA of the Bank of Spain, and was accompanied by Enrique González, Leader of the Technological Observatory of the Central Bank of Chile, who presented the paper "A look at the Digital Currencies of the Central Bank – Chilean Experience". In it, he pointed out that, regardless of the design and attributes, there is consensus regarding some characteristics that a central bank digital currency must meet.

In turn, Jaime Herrero, Deputy Secretary General and DGA of the Bank of Spain, addressed the issues of the transformation of business models, sovereign digital currencies, and the relevance of sustainability in central banks.

The seventh session was a panel: Regulatory Compliance, moderated by Javier Cruz, Compliance Officer of the Central Bank of Chile, accompanied by the panelists:

Jaime Herrero, Deputy Secretary General and Deputy General Manager (DGA) of the Bank of Spain, who presented the concept and configuration of regulatory compliance and the evolution of regulatory compliance at the Bank of Spain.

Xavier Pérez de la Puente, National Intendant of Risks and Studies, of the Superintendency of Banks of Ecuador spoke about regulatory compliance at the Superintendency of Banks of Ecuador.

In the eighth session, there was a special intervention by Sandra Contreras, Head of the Information Access Unit of the Central Bank of Chile, accompanied by Nadia Pino, Management Analyst of the Information Access Unit of the Central Bank of Chile, who spoke about: The Evolution of Transparency in the Central Bank of Chile. They highlighted: Transparency prior to the Law, Enactment of the Transparency Law, Other laws related to Transparency, New Transparency Standards, Institutional Transparency Policy and some Reflections and upcoming challenges.

In the ninth session, there was a special intervention by Tatiana Rodriguez, Governor of the Central Bank of Ecuador, who presented: Challenges and opportunities of the governance of the Central Bank in a dollarized country, and the structure of the monetary and financial system in Ecuador.

The tenth session was a closing panel: Conclusions, best practices and collaborative projects: Jaime Herrero, Deputy Secretary General and DGA of the Bank of Spain. Roberto Marino, Advisor to the General Management of CEMLA and Mariela Iturriaga, Manager of the Administration and Technology Division of the Central Bank of Chile.