2022 Agenda

2022 Agenda

2022 Agenda

Click on the track icons below to see sessions happening over the two days

Reserve management - October 24th

08:1509:10

Registration and refreshments

08:15 - 09:10

09:1009:20

Chair’s opening remarks

07:50 - 08:00

Milciades Contreras

Former head of financial risk

Central Bank of Chile

Milciades Contreras was Manager of Financial Risk at the Central Bank of Chile between 2005 and 2018, where he was responsible for performance and risk monitoring for international reserve and sovereign wealth funds, and for domestic open market and debt operations. He was also responsible for forecasting the results of the central bank´s balance sheet and had an advisory role in defining the bank’s risk management framework.

Mr. Contreras is currently Head of Research at the Chilean Association of Health Insurance Companies in a technical role supportive of the Association’s strategy and communications with government, regulators, legislators, and the public, in subjects related to health reform in Chile.

Before working in the financial sector, Mr. Contreras was a research Scientist at the University of Chicago between 1990 and 1996, in the field of experimental high-energy physics where he participated in the discovery of the top quark subatomic particle.

Milcíades received a degree in electrical engineering from Universidad de Chile, a Ph.D. in physics from Brandeis University and an MBA from University of Chicago. He has taught graduate finance courses at several universities and has been consultant in sovereign wealth fund management and financial risk management for the IMF.

09:2010:00

Executive address: what have the past three years taught us about risk management?

09:20 - 10:00

Odean B. White

Chief risk officer

Bank of Jamaica

Mr Odean White, JP, M.Sc. Economics, B.Sc. Actuarial Science (hons) is a career banking & finance professional with almost 20 years' experience within the Jamaican financial sector. His passion for risk management was cultivated during stints at two of the Caribbean's leading financial institutions, where he played key roles in the operationalization of their asset-liability and enterprise risk management frameworks. 

Mr White is currently the Chief Risk Officer at Bank of Jamaica, and enjoys sports, reading and spending time with his family. He is married to Alysia and together they have three children. 

10:0010:45

Panel: how are reserve managers positioning their portfolios for the changing macroeconomic environment?

10:00 - 10:45

  • How have you been positioning your portfolio so far in 2022?
  • What are the major risks (and opportunities) going into next year?
  • What will be the impact on portfolio diversification tactically and strategically?
Milciades Contreras

Former head of financial risk

Central Bank of Chile

Milciades Contreras was Manager of Financial Risk at the Central Bank of Chile between 2005 and 2018, where he was responsible for performance and risk monitoring for international reserve and sovereign wealth funds, and for domestic open market and debt operations. He was also responsible for forecasting the results of the central bank´s balance sheet and had an advisory role in defining the bank’s risk management framework.

Mr. Contreras is currently Head of Research at the Chilean Association of Health Insurance Companies in a technical role supportive of the Association’s strategy and communications with government, regulators, legislators, and the public, in subjects related to health reform in Chile.

Before working in the financial sector, Mr. Contreras was a research Scientist at the University of Chicago between 1990 and 1996, in the field of experimental high-energy physics where he participated in the discovery of the top quark subatomic particle.

Milcíades received a degree in electrical engineering from Universidad de Chile, a Ph.D. in physics from Brandeis University and an MBA from University of Chicago. He has taught graduate finance courses at several universities and has been consultant in sovereign wealth fund management and financial risk management for the IMF.

Diana Dengo

Investment Director

Wellington Management

As an investment director in Investment Product & Fund Strategies, Diana is responsible for the Global Bond suite of investment approaches. She works closely with the fixed income investment teams and investment directors to help ensure the integrity of their investment approaches by overseeing portfolio positioning, performance, and risk exposures. She meets regularly with the investment teams and contributes to developing new products and client solutions and managing business issues such as capacity, fees, and guidelines. She also participates in meetings with clients, prospects, and consultants to communicate our investment philosophy, strategy, positioning, and performance. Diana re-joined Wellington in 2021, after previously working at Wellington as a portfolio specialist and, later, investment director in Investment Product & Fund Strategies (2012 — 2018). Prior to joining Wellington, she worked as a portfolio analyst at New Holland Capital, LLC (2008 — 2010). Before that she worked at Citigroup as an analyst in the Global Securitized Markets Group (2006 — 2008). Diana earned an MBA, with honors, from the University of Pennsylvania (Wharton, 2012) and a BA in economics from Yale University (2006). Additionally, she holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a member of the CFA Institute and New York Society of Security Analysts.

Elie Lewi

Head of markets

Banque de France

Elie Lewi is Deputy Head of Markets in Banque de France (since septembre 2018), the French central bank, which oversees 5 departments and more than 100 people covering foreign exchange reserve management, FX operations and the provision of investment services to foreign central banks and international organisations, as well as back-office and custody activities.

Elie Lewi have started in 2002 his central banker career when joining the Banque de France investment division, in charge during 5 years of managing foreign exchange reserves for Banque de France, the ECB and another Eurozone National central Bank from New York.

After working a few years for the French Market Authority (AMF) as an inspector dealing with market abuse investigations, he was in charge, when coming back to Banque de France’s market operations, to develop and promote investment services for foreign central banks and official institutions.

Since 2013, he has supervised the department in charge of financial market monitoring and analysis and the implementation of Asset Purchase Programs in Banque de France. A full team was dedicated to implement APP purchases, private assets (ABS, covered bonds and corporate bonds) as well as public (sovereign, agencies, supranational, regionals) and analyze these various market segments. At this regard, he participates to international and Eurosystem working groups in the field of markets and monetary policy in order to prepare and implement the decisions of the ECB’s governing Council.

He joined the Markets Directorate in September 2018 as Deputy Director.

Karafa Jobarteh

deputy director, financial markets and reserve management department

Central Bank of The Gambia

10:4511:30

Networking break

10:45 - 11:30

11:3012:15

Panel: what is the case for non-traditional reserve currencies?

11:30 - 12:15

  • What are reasons for investing in, and experience of, non-traditional reserve currencies?
  • What are the practical challenges of investing?
  • What strategies can reserve managers employ going forward?
Michael Buckle

Senior director of foreign reserves

Bank of Jamaica

Mr. Buckle is a member of the Bank of Jamaica’s Senior Management Team, with responsibility for the investment management of the Foreign Currency Reserves of Jamaica reporting to the Bank’s Board, Management Committee and Investment Committee.

He also has responsibility for the investment management of the Central Bank’s Pension Fund optimized with an elongated investment horizon.

Previously, he was the Director of Bank of Jamaica’s Information Communication and Technology team, with specific responsibility for the alignment of the IT Governance, Business Intelligence, Web Presence and Electronic Connectivity with the regulated entities in the financial sector.

Having started his career as an IT professional at CitiBank Jamaica, he also holds a BSc. degree in Information Technology from the University of the West Indies, Jamaica and an MBA with a double major in Finance and Technology from the University of Miami.

Arnab Das

Global market strategist

Invesco

Arnab Das is Global Market Strategist at Invesco in the EMEA region, based in London, and a member of Invesco’s Global Thought Leadership team. He helps develop and communicate analysis and insight on the global economy and financial markets across asset classes for clients, media, governments and central banks.

He works with Invesco’s investment teams across disciplines and regions and is a member of Invesco’s Global Investor Forum Advisory Council with a focus on global macro and emerging markets. Arnab’s research interests span economic policy, performance and reform; and economic and financial history.

Arnab joined Invesco in 2015 as Head of EM macro research for Invesco Fixed Income. He began his career in finance in 1992, and has served as Co-head of Economic Research & Strategy at Roubini Global Economics; Co-head of Global Economics & Strategy, Head of Global FX Research, and Head of EM Economics & Strategy at Dresdner Kleinwort; and Head of EEMEA Research at JP Morgan. He has also been a private consultant in global and emerging markets, as well as consulting with Trusted Sources, a specialist EM research boutique.

Arnab’s studies were in macroeconomics, economic history and international political economy. He received an AB from Princeton University in 1986 and completed his postgraduate and doctoral work at the London School of Economics in 1987-1992.

Juan Carlos Piantini

International markets manager

Central Bank of Chile

Juan Carlos Piantini has occupied various senior positions at the Central Bank of Chile for the last 15 years dealing with the management of international reserves, sovereign wealth funds and investment strategies. Currently he is the Financial Markets Analysis Manager, responsible for advising the senior management of the bank on strategic matters related to the balance sheet of the Central Bank, including proposals on the strategic asset allocation for the international reserves. Mr. Piantini graduated as Economist from Universidad de Santiago de Chile and he got a master’s degree on financial economics at the same university. He has also developed an academic curriculum contributing to several universities giving courses for graduate and undergraduate students on economics and finance.

Joaquin Tapia

Director of Operations

Bank of Mexico

Joaquin Tapia heads the International Operations Division at Banco de Mexico. He is primarily responsible for the international reserve’s management and providing global markets intelligence to the Board of Directors. Mr. Tapia worked for the Domestic Operations Division, where he led the FX desk and collaborated with the Monetary Programming Department. Prior to joining the bank Mr. Tapia was an investment banker at Merrill Lynch and also a chief economist for the Mexican Deposit Insurance Corporation (IPAB). Mr. Tapia earned a B.A. degree in Economics from the Universidad Iberoamericana and a M.A. in Math Finance from Columbia University.

12:1513:45

Networking lunch

12:15 - 13:45

13:4514:30

Panel: how are reserve managers using ETFs as a means for diversification?

13:45 - 14:30

  • Growth of ETFs in reserve management: rationale, results and risks
  • Opportunities in the market: equities, corporates and gold
  • How can ETFs contribute to the central bank socially responsible investment goals?
Pascal Farahmand

Senior investment officer

IMF

Pascal Farahmand is a Senior Investment Officer in the Investment Unit of the IMF. He works on a broad set of investment issues related to global asset allocation, strategy, implementation and manager selection and oversight. He has been leading the efforts to introduce private investments in the Fund’s portfolios. Prior to joining the IMF in 2011, he was the Head of Foreign Reserve Management at the Bank of Canada for over a decade. In that capacity, he was responsible for all funding, investment and ALM activities. Prior to that role, he worked in financial sector research, market operations, monetary policy implementation, as well as treasury and debt management at the Bank of Canada.

Germano Machado

Deputy head, corporate risk and benchmarks department

Central Bank of Brazil

Germano Machado joined Banco Central do Brasil (BCB) in 2012 and is the Deputy Head of Corporate Risks and Benchmarks Department, where he coordinates teams that implement the Enterprise Risk Management framework that ensures that timely, uniform and transparent risk data and methodologies strengthen both the institution’s governance, by enabling managers to make more informed, efficient and accountable decisions, and its long term resilience, by means of an enterprise-wide management of its internal controls, the support of a robust business continuity process and maintenance of a solid risk culture. During most of his early years at BCB, he was involved with financial risk management related to  the bank’s balance sheet, particularly with controls, financial model developments for strategic asset allocation and deployment of systems needed for the investments of the international reserves. His current responsibilities include providing technical support to managers and the Board on processes related to measurement/assessment of all risk dimensions that affect the bank as a whole (financial, operational, strategic etc.), on integration of business continuity management across all time-sensitive functions and processes, and on compliance management (which, in BCB, is a task carried out by the Risk Department).

Germano holds a degree in Electrical Engineering and a second one in Economic Sciences, both from University of São Paulo, Brazil.

Antonieta Campa Rojas

Risk strategy and project manager

Bank of Mexico

Antonieta Campa heads the Projects and Risk Analysis Division at the Central Bank of Mexico, where she works on enhancing risk management for the Central Bank's operations in both the national and international markets, its insurance schemes for current operations and new projects, and develops risk management models and methodologies for the institution's internal activities. Ms. Campa joined the Central Bank of Mexico in 2004. Prior to her current position, she served as Financial Risk Manager, in charge of valuation, risk management and compliance activities for the foreign currency reserves. She holds a BSc. in Mathematics from UNAM in Mexico City and a MSc. in Mathematical Finance from Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona.

14:3015:00

Scene setting for working groups: diversifying the portfolio

15:30 - 16:30

In this session, the theme of diversifying the portfolio will be introduced in a short panel. Following this, participants will be assigned to three Working Groups, each led by a Facilitator, to discuss three challenges of diversification in more detail.

 

Recent years have seen central banks move progressively into new asset classes, markets and currencies. But what will happen to this trend as yields continue to rise and bond prices decrease, diversification has become a challenge for many reserve managers. The Working Groups will consider:

  • Opportunities for 2023
  • Emerging risks
  • Actionable strategies
Abdiel A. Santiago

Chief investment officer

Fondo de Ahorro de Panamá

Abdiel A. Santiago has over 20 years of financial experience across diverse verticals in the financial sector including equity investment research, investment banking, financial restructuring and financial regulation.  Santiago is currently the Secretariat (CEO / CIO) of the Fondo de Ahorro de Panamá (Sovereign Wealth Fund of Panama), where he provides executive leadership to the Fund’s Board of Directors, and management of the nation’s ~$1.4bn investment vehicle for intergenerational wealth-creation.  Prior to this role, Santiago advised firms in the energy/industrial sector on restructurings and divestitures.  Before this, Santiago was an equity investment research executive at Morgan Stanley in New York covering the energy sector (~$70b m.cap.) and in teams that have consistently ranked No. 1.  Santiago also worked in investment banking, served as a financial analyst at the US Securities & Exchange Commission overseeing financial/regulatory matters at broker-dealers and asset managers, and served in the US Air Force.  Santiago received an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a BSBA from the University of Denver.

Milciades Contreras

Former head of financial risk

Central Bank of Chile

Milciades Contreras was Manager of Financial Risk at the Central Bank of Chile between 2005 and 2018, where he was responsible for performance and risk monitoring for international reserve and sovereign wealth funds, and for domestic open market and debt operations. He was also responsible for forecasting the results of the central bank´s balance sheet and had an advisory role in defining the bank’s risk management framework.

Mr. Contreras is currently Head of Research at the Chilean Association of Health Insurance Companies in a technical role supportive of the Association’s strategy and communications with government, regulators, legislators, and the public, in subjects related to health reform in Chile.

Before working in the financial sector, Mr. Contreras was a research Scientist at the University of Chicago between 1990 and 1996, in the field of experimental high-energy physics where he participated in the discovery of the top quark subatomic particle.

Milcíades received a degree in electrical engineering from Universidad de Chile, a Ph.D. in physics from Brandeis University and an MBA from University of Chicago. He has taught graduate finance courses at several universities and has been consultant in sovereign wealth fund management and financial risk management for the IMF.

Michael Buckle

Senior director of foreign reserves

Bank of Jamaica

Mr. Buckle is a member of the Bank of Jamaica’s Senior Management Team, with responsibility for the investment management of the Foreign Currency Reserves of Jamaica reporting to the Bank’s Board, Management Committee and Investment Committee.

He also has responsibility for the investment management of the Central Bank’s Pension Fund optimized with an elongated investment horizon.

Previously, he was the Director of Bank of Jamaica’s Information Communication and Technology team, with specific responsibility for the alignment of the IT Governance, Business Intelligence, Web Presence and Electronic Connectivity with the regulated entities in the financial sector.

Having started his career as an IT professional at CitiBank Jamaica, he also holds a BSc. degree in Information Technology from the University of the West Indies, Jamaica and an MBA with a double major in Finance and Technology from the University of Miami.

15:3016:30

Working groups

15:30 - 16:30

In this session, there will be three separate groups all discussing an element of diversifying the portfolio as listed below.

 

Group 1: Bond and credit markets, including money markets, corporates, ABS and MBS

Group 2: Fixed income investments 

Group 3: CBDCs and digital assets

16:3017:15

Presentation on working group findings

16:30 - 17:15

In this session, the working group respondents will report back on the discussion of their working group to the audience. Each group will have 15 minutes.

17:1517:30

Chair's closing remarks

17:15 - 17:30

17:3019:30

Networking reception

17:30 - 19:30

Fintech - October 24th

08:1509:10

Registration and refreshments

08:15 - 09:10

09:1009:20

Chair's opening remarks

09:10 - 09:20

Clair Mills

Director of strategic change and operations for markets, banking and payments

Bank of England

Clair Mills is the Director of Strategic Change and Operations for the Markets, Banking and Payments Deputy Governorship, at the Bank of England, and is responsible for middle and back office operations, which includes delivery of the Markets, Banking and Payments Operations and Data Strategy, Budget, Operational Resilience and Risk and the Investment and Change Portfolio. Clair has over 20 years’ extensive financial services experience operating at board level and leading successful strategic and transformational change in a number of complex organisations, having started her career in the Building Society and Retail Banking sector, before moving into Operational and Technological Change Management and Consultancy. Clair joined the Financial Services Authority in 2011 to lead the Internal Twin Peaks programme transition to the PRA and FCA regulatory model, moving across to the Bank of England with the PRA becoming the Chief Operating Officer in the PRA in 2018. In her current role, as well as providing the leadership, management and vision necessary to support the business and to ensure that the proper operational controls, administrative and reporting procedures, and people systems are in place, Clair is also responsible for leading the area’s extensive project portfolio, helping translate business and policy vision into deliverable change programmes, this includes giving key note speeches both in the UK and internationally on topics such as Financial and Regulatory Technology (FinTech/RegTech) and how Central Banks and regulators can take advantage of the advances in technology in the work we do.

09:2010:00

Keynote address: data ownership and data sharing: the case for expanding open banking

09:20 - 10:00

Otavio Ribiero Damaso

Deputy governor for regulation

Central Bank of Brazil

Otávio Damaso is Deputy Governor for Regulation at the Banco Central do Brasil (BCB). He previously served as Chief of Staff to the Governor of the BCB and as Deputy Secretary for Economic Policy at the Ministry of Finance. He chaired the boards of Caixa Econômica Federal, IRB Brasil RE and Banco do Estado do Ceará. Mr. Damaso studied Economics at Universidade de Brasília and is a career civil servant at the BCB since 1998.

10:0010:45

Panel: how can decentralised finance (defi) drive innovation of the financial system?

10:00 - 10:45

  • An overview of defi: origins, definitions, and impact
  • How is the relationship between defi and CBDC changing?
  • How can defi be utilised for other industry applications, such as KYC, anti-money laundering and cross-border payments?
Rosbert Humphrey

Director, currency management department

Eastern Caribbean Central Bank

Mr Rosbert Humphrey has been employed at the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) for the past twenty two (22) years, twenty one (21) of which have been in the Currency Management Department, where he is currently the Director. His main duties include Forecasting, Ordering and Monitoring of currency stocks, and general management of the Currency Management Department. He is a certified Banknote Forensic Expert Witness and a Trainer in the delivery of Expert Witness Training in the Eastern Caribbean countries. Rosbert has been a presenter and discussant at several banknote and currency seminars, workshops and training courses.

Rosbert is a native of St Vincent and the Grenadines, and holds a Bachelors of Science Degree in Economics and Accounting and a Masters of Science Degree in Finance.

Andrea Oconitrillo Rojas

Head of the centro de innovación financiera (CIF) , CONASSIF, superintendencies

Central Bank of Costa Rica

Master’s in finance with a specialization in FinTech from the IE Business School in Madrid, graduated with honors in Business Administration from the University of Costa Rica and she passed Level II of the CFA examination.

Andrea has more than ten years of experience at the Central Bank of Costa Rica, where her functions focused on issues of technological innovation and climate change. She has led technological projects and collaborated in the creation of a newly stablished financial innovation hub called CIF within the regulatory and supervisory entities of the Costa Rican financial system.

Additionally, she is a professor at the National Distance Education University in Costa Rica, designing a pioneering course on FinTech and Digital Banking in the country.

Larry Wall

Research center executive director, center for financial innovation and stability

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

Dr. Wall is the research center executive director of the Center for Financial Innovation and Stability (CenFIS) at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Dr. Wall has served on the editorial boards of various academic journals and is also Academic Advisory Panel for the International Association of Deposit Insurers. He has been an adjunct faculty member of Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

10:4511:30

Networking break

10:45 - 11:30

11:3012:15

Panel: how can technological innovation enhance supervision?

11:30 - 12:15

  • Examples of technological applications in supervision
  • Machine learning to blockchain technology – what tools are central bankers using to enhance supervision?
  • What opportunities can new technologies unlock?
Clair Mills

Director of strategic change and operations for markets, banking and payments

Bank of England

Clair Mills is the Director of Strategic Change and Operations for the Markets, Banking and Payments Deputy Governorship, at the Bank of England, and is responsible for middle and back office operations, which includes delivery of the Markets, Banking and Payments Operations and Data Strategy, Budget, Operational Resilience and Risk and the Investment and Change Portfolio. Clair has over 20 years’ extensive financial services experience operating at board level and leading successful strategic and transformational change in a number of complex organisations, having started her career in the Building Society and Retail Banking sector, before moving into Operational and Technological Change Management and Consultancy. Clair joined the Financial Services Authority in 2011 to lead the Internal Twin Peaks programme transition to the PRA and FCA regulatory model, moving across to the Bank of England with the PRA becoming the Chief Operating Officer in the PRA in 2018. In her current role, as well as providing the leadership, management and vision necessary to support the business and to ensure that the proper operational controls, administrative and reporting procedures, and people systems are in place, Clair is also responsible for leading the area’s extensive project portfolio, helping translate business and policy vision into deliverable change programmes, this includes giving key note speeches both in the UK and internationally on topics such as Financial and Regulatory Technology (FinTech/RegTech) and how Central Banks and regulators can take advantage of the advances in technology in the work we do.

Jim Cunha

Senior vice president

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

Jim Cunha is the Executive Vice President of Secure Payments and FinTech Research and Interim COO at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.  His entire career has focused on the interrelationship of payments, security, technology and innovation.

Cunha leads the Federal Reserve’s Secure Payment efforts, which seeks to help reduce fraud in the U.S. payments system through collaboration with industry participants. 

Cunha is also spearheading the Boston Fed’s efforts to study distributed ledger technology, or blockchain, to determine potential benefits and risks in financial services for internal and external uses. He is specifically focused on the evolution of the technology and its potential impact on the financial services sector.  He is also responsible for the Bank’s technology research related to central bank digital currencies (CBDC), including a joint research effort with MIT’s Digital Currency Initiative.   

Cunha has worked at the Boston Fed since 1984. Prior to that, he worked at Fleet National Bank. He holds a bachelor’s in accounting and philosophy from Northeastern University and a bachelor’s in computer science from Rhode Island College.

Ghiath Shabsigh

Assistant director, monetary and capital markets

International Monetary Fund

Ghiath Shabsigh is the Assistant Director of the Monetary and Capital Market Department at the IMF, with responsibilities covering, central banking, fintech and financial sector development. Since joining the IMF, he worked on economic reform programs, financial sector deepening, financial stability assessment programs, and capacity building in central banks in countries in Africa, Central and Southeast Asia, Europe, Middle East, and North America. His previous work experience includes working as a financial analyst and teaching. Mr. Shabsigh holds a Ph.D. degree in Monetary Economics and International Finance, a MA in Economic Development, a B.Sc. in Economics and Business, and several professional qualifications in banking and securities market operations.

Adolfo Sarmiento

Head of economic policy and markets

Central Bank of Uruguay

Adolfo Sarmiento is Head of Economic Policy and Markets, advising to the board at the Central Bank of Uruguay, he is responsible for the Monetary Policy implementation, and he’s also involved in FinTech specially in the CBDC Projects. He holds a degree in Economics of the University of the Republic of Uruguay, a Master in Applied Macroeconomics of the Catholic University of Chile and a PhD in Economics for the Catholic University of Argentina.

12:1513:45

Networking lunch

12:15 - 13:45

13:4514:30

Presentation: Latest innovations and best practices with PIX design, implementation and development

13:45 - 14:30

  • Overview of Pix and role of the Central Bank
  • State of play in Pix
  • Lessons learned
  • What’s ahead?
Carlos Eduardo Brandt

Head of Pix management and operations

Central Bank of Brazil

Carlos Eduardo Brandt is the head of Pix Management and Operation team at Banco Central do Brasil. Graduated in engineering and law, specialized in finance and law, has been working for the last 20 year in payments, led Pix design and implementation process in Brazil and is currently leading and driving Pix's evolving agenda. Brandt coordinates Pix Forum, an permanent advisory committee, whose purpose is to support BCB in its role of establishing Pix rulebook.

14:3015:00

Scene setting for working groups: data governance

14:30 - 15:00

In this session, the theme of data governance will be introduced in a short panel. Following this, participants will be assigned to three working groups, each led by a facilitator, to discuss three scenarios in more detail.

No one in 2022 doubts the centrality of data in the development of central bank processes and policies. With new tools, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, enhanced data architectures offer the potential to improve policy decision-making, risk identification and reporting efficiency. The working groups will consider:

  • New tools
  • Emerging processes
  • The implications for data governance
Ghiath Shabsigh

Assistant director, monetary and capital markets

International Monetary Fund

Ghiath Shabsigh is the Assistant Director of the Monetary and Capital Market Department at the IMF, with responsibilities covering, central banking, fintech and financial sector development. Since joining the IMF, he worked on economic reform programs, financial sector deepening, financial stability assessment programs, and capacity building in central banks in countries in Africa, Central and Southeast Asia, Europe, Middle East, and North America. His previous work experience includes working as a financial analyst and teaching. Mr. Shabsigh holds a Ph.D. degree in Monetary Economics and International Finance, a MA in Economic Development, a B.Sc. in Economics and Business, and several professional qualifications in banking and securities market operations.

Julapa Jagtiani

Senior economic advisor and economist

Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia

Julapa Jagtiani joined the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia as a special advisor in the Supervision, Regulation, and Credit Department in 2008. In this role, she has conducted research and participated in or led several supervisory policy and implementation projects, including CCAR stress testing, recovery and resolution plans, and Basel II qualification reviews for large and complex financial institutions, with a focus on the use of quantitative methods and models for risk management. She is also a fellow member of the Wharton Financial Institutions Center and a Central Bank Research Fellow at the Bank for International Settlements. A career highlight has been contributing to the discussion around the potential impacts of fintech and considerations for shaping future fintech regulations that protect consumers and encourage innovation. 

Previously, Jagtiani was a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Banks of Kansas City and Chicago. Before joining the Federal Reserve System in 1998, she was associate professor of finance at Baruch College and assistant professor of finance at Syracuse University.

Jagtiani has made significant contributions in the fields of financial institutions, financial markets, and bank supervision and regulation. She publishes research in top finance journals, organizes conferences to connect regulators with academics and industry leaders, and is a frequent speaker at conferences and forums. Her research areas include banking policy-related issues, including too big to fail, systemic risk and financial stability, Basel II capital regulations, mergers and acquisitions, mortgages and home equity issues, and credit risk models and management. Her more recent research has focused on issues related to fintech, use of alternative data and AI/ML in credit decisions, small business lending, and community bank mergers.

Jagtiani has been active in the community and has served on the board of directors and finance committees at various organizations, including the Leadership Council Board of Directors for the American Red Cross, the Center for Practical Bioethics, and the Parents Council at Johns Hopkins University; she also belongs to the Union League of Philadelphia. Jagtiani has a Ph.D. in finance and an M.B.A. from New York University’s Stern School of Business, where she held the Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship.

 

Ghyslaine Rollocks-Petrona

Data and statistics officer

Central Bank of Curacao and Sint Maarten

Ghyslaine Rollocks-Petrona works at the Centrale Bank van Curaçao en Sint Maarten as a Data and Statistics Officer. In this position, she must be skillful and creative while gathering the necessary data for the international reports, which entails the International Investment Position as well as the Balance of Payments of Curaçao en Sint Maarten. Before joining the central bank, she worked as a Foreign Exchange Trader at RBC Royal Bank Sint Maarten, where she oversaw and maintained the institutions’ foreign currency market position and executed foreign currency transactions for clients. She also worked as a Treasury Manager at RBC Royal Bank Sint Maarten, managing the cash flow of the institution.

Ghyslaine obtained her bachelor’s degree in General Management. She was born and raised on the beautiful island of Curaçao, and later moved to the friendly island of Sint Maarten. Ghyslaine has soft skills training in adaptability, communication, and teamwork. In her spare time, she enjoys Asian series and going to the beach.

15:3016:30

Working groups

15:30 - 16:30

In this session, there will be three separate groups all discussing an element of data governance as listed below.

 

Group 1: Are data driven policies the future of the central banking?

Group 2: The ‘data paradox’ – how can artificial intelligence use data to produce the analytics for decision makers?

Group 3: How can a common approach on data create a clearer picture of where central banks stand today?

16:3017:15

Presentation on working group findings

16:30 - 17:15

In this session, the working group respondents will report back on the discussion of their working group to the audience. Each group will have 15 minutes.

17:3019:30

Networking reception

17:30 - 19:30

Reserve management - October 25th

08:3009:10

Registration and refreshments

08:15 - 09:10

09:1009:20

Chair's opening remarks

09:10 - 09:20

Milciades Contreras

Former head of financial risk

Central Bank of Chile

Milciades Contreras was Manager of Financial Risk at the Central Bank of Chile between 2005 and 2018, where he was responsible for performance and risk monitoring for international reserve and sovereign wealth funds, and for domestic open market and debt operations. He was also responsible for forecasting the results of the central bank´s balance sheet and had an advisory role in defining the bank’s risk management framework.

Mr. Contreras is currently Head of Research at the Chilean Association of Health Insurance Companies in a technical role supportive of the Association’s strategy and communications with government, regulators, legislators, and the public, in subjects related to health reform in Chile.

Before working in the financial sector, Mr. Contreras was a research Scientist at the University of Chicago between 1990 and 1996, in the field of experimental high-energy physics where he participated in the discovery of the top quark subatomic particle.

Milcíades received a degree in electrical engineering from Universidad de Chile, a Ph.D. in physics from Brandeis University and an MBA from University of Chicago. He has taught graduate finance courses at several universities and has been consultant in sovereign wealth fund management and financial risk management for the IMF.

09:2010:00

Executive address: the outlook for the US economy, inflation and monetary policy in 2023

09:20 - 10:00

Elisa Vilorio

Technical consultant and deputy director of the treasury department

Elisa Vilorio Medina is a Technical Consultant of the Treasury Department of the Central Bank of Dominican Republic. Dr. Vilorio’s tenure responsibilities as Deputy Director of Foreign Reserve management for more than 10 years included the design and execution of the FX reserves portfolio investment strategy, quantitative analysis of risk management and strategic asset allocation. Furthermore, Dr. Vilorio was one of the lead managers of the successful Repurchase Operation of the Brady Bonds of the Central Bank of Dominican Republic in 2017.

Dr. Vilorio holds a PhD in Economics from Florida International University (FIU), a Master of Science in Finance and a post-graduate degree in Risk Management from the IAE Aix en Provence in France and is a Fulbright Alumni. She has presented her Macroeconomic research in different Annual meetings at the American Economic Association (AEA), Southern Economic Association (SEA), Midwest Economic Association (MEA), Eastern Economic Association (EEA), International Atlantic Economic Society (IAES) and International Trade and Finance Association (ITFA).

Also, Dr. Vilorio has participated in different projects with the World Bank under the Reserve Advisory Management (RAMP) program. Furthermore, Dr. Vilorio has published several articles in the Central Banking Journal related to active management of a portfolio of International Reserves and hedging strategies using interest rate futures.

10:0010:45

Panel: how can reserve managers hedge macro risks?

10:00 - 10:45

  • Where are “natural” hedges available for yields, inflation?
  • Where can reserve managers make use of derivatives?
  • How central banks have changed their strategies in light of geopolitical risks?
Cleopatra Davis

Head of banking

Central Bank of The Bahamas

Cleopatra Davis serves as Head of Banking, Central Bank of The Bahamas. In this role, she has oversight of payments operations, foreign and domestic debt markets activities, and eSolutions.


Cleopatra serves as co-chair, for a dynamic payments modernization – digital fiat currency – strategic initiative undertaken by the Bank. She also serves on other of the Bank’s committees including the Investment Committee and Monetary Policy Committee.
She is also a member of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI), Digital Financial Services (DFS) Working Group, and a member of the DFS Gender Diversity sub-committee.


She is a Chartered Banker MBA (MCBIS), Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Certified Financial Services Auditor (CFSA), Certification in Risk Management Assurance (CRMA) and a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA). She is a member of the Chartered Bankers Institute in Scotland, ISACA, and past president of The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) Bahamas Chapter.

Julia Weekes

Director, banking, currency & investments

Central Bank of Barbados

Elisa Vilorio

Technical consultant and deputy director of the treasury department

Elisa Vilorio Medina is a Technical Consultant of the Treasury Department of the Central Bank of Dominican Republic. Dr. Vilorio’s tenure responsibilities as Deputy Director of Foreign Reserve management for more than 10 years included the design and execution of the FX reserves portfolio investment strategy, quantitative analysis of risk management and strategic asset allocation. Furthermore, Dr. Vilorio was one of the lead managers of the successful Repurchase Operation of the Brady Bonds of the Central Bank of Dominican Republic in 2017.

Dr. Vilorio holds a PhD in Economics from Florida International University (FIU), a Master of Science in Finance and a post-graduate degree in Risk Management from the IAE Aix en Provence in France and is a Fulbright Alumni. She has presented her Macroeconomic research in different Annual meetings at the American Economic Association (AEA), Southern Economic Association (SEA), Midwest Economic Association (MEA), Eastern Economic Association (EEA), International Atlantic Economic Society (IAES) and International Trade and Finance Association (ITFA).

Also, Dr. Vilorio has participated in different projects with the World Bank under the Reserve Advisory Management (RAMP) program. Furthermore, Dr. Vilorio has published several articles in the Central Banking Journal related to active management of a portfolio of International Reserves and hedging strategies using interest rate futures.

10:4511:30

Networking break

11:20 - 11:50

11:3012:15

Panel: ESG strategies - what is the state of the art?

11:30 - 12:15

  • Central banks so far and ESG: the story
  • New developments in the markets: opportunities and risks
  • Removing roadblocks and educating stakeholders
Milciades Contreras

Former head of financial risk

Central Bank of Chile

Milciades Contreras was Manager of Financial Risk at the Central Bank of Chile between 2005 and 2018, where he was responsible for performance and risk monitoring for international reserve and sovereign wealth funds, and for domestic open market and debt operations. He was also responsible for forecasting the results of the central bank´s balance sheet and had an advisory role in defining the bank’s risk management framework.

Mr. Contreras is currently Head of Research at the Chilean Association of Health Insurance Companies in a technical role supportive of the Association’s strategy and communications with government, regulators, legislators, and the public, in subjects related to health reform in Chile.

Before working in the financial sector, Mr. Contreras was a research Scientist at the University of Chicago between 1990 and 1996, in the field of experimental high-energy physics where he participated in the discovery of the top quark subatomic particle.

Milcíades received a degree in electrical engineering from Universidad de Chile, a Ph.D. in physics from Brandeis University and an MBA from University of Chicago. He has taught graduate finance courses at several universities and has been consultant in sovereign wealth fund management and financial risk management for the IMF.

Elie Lewi

Head of markets directorate

Banque de France

Elie Lewi have started in 2002 his central banker career when joining the Banque de France investment division, in charge during 5 years of managing foreign exchange reserves for Banque de France, the ECB and another Eurozone National central Bank from New York.

After working a few years for the French Market Authority (AMF) as an inspector, he was in charge, when coming back to Banque de France’s dealing room, to develop and promote investment services for foreign central banks and institutions.
Since 2013, he has supervised the department in charge of financial markets analysis as well as the implementation of Asset Purchase Programs (QE) in Banque de France. A full team was dedicated to implement APP purchases, private assets (ABS, covered bonds and corporate bonds) as well as public (sovereign, agencies, supranational, regionals) and to analyze these various market segments.

Since February 2020, he's Head of Banque de France's Markets Directorate, supervising front office as well as post-trade activities for Banque de France's own financial activities and services provided to international institutions.

Antonieta Campa Rojas

Risk strategy and project manager

Bank of Mexico

Antonieta Campa heads the Projects and Risk Analysis Division at the Central Bank of Mexico, where she works on enhancing risk management for the Central Bank's operations in both the national and international markets, its insurance schemes for current operations and new projects, and develops risk management models and methodologies for the institution's internal activities. Ms. Campa joined the Central Bank of Mexico in 2004. Prior to her current position, she served as Financial Risk Manager, in charge of valuation, risk management and compliance activities for the foreign currency reserves. She holds a BSc. in Mathematics from UNAM in Mexico City and a MSc. in Mathematical Finance from Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona.

Abdiel A. Santiago

Chief investment officer

Fondo de Ahorro de Panamá

Abdiel A. Santiago has over 20 years of financial experience across diverse verticals in the financial sector including equity investment research, investment banking, financial restructuring and financial regulation.  Santiago is currently the Secretariat (CEO / CIO) of the Fondo de Ahorro de Panamá (Sovereign Wealth Fund of Panama), where he provides executive leadership to the Fund’s Board of Directors, and management of the nation’s ~$1.4bn investment vehicle for intergenerational wealth-creation.  Prior to this role, Santiago advised firms in the energy/industrial sector on restructurings and divestitures.  Before this, Santiago was an equity investment research executive at Morgan Stanley in New York covering the energy sector (~$70b m.cap.) and in teams that have consistently ranked No. 1.  Santiago also worked in investment banking, served as a financial analyst at the US Securities & Exchange Commission overseeing financial/regulatory matters at broker-dealers and asset managers, and served in the US Air Force.  Santiago received an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a BSBA from the University of Denver.

12:1513:45

Networking lunch

12:15 - 13:45

13:4514:30

Panel: communication challenges for reserve managers: what to say, when and how?

13:45 - 14:30

  • How are reserve managers reporting portfolio performance?
  • What demands are made by media, board and stakeholders?
  • Would the reserve management function benefit from an explicit goal?
Elisa Vilorio

Technical consultant and deputy director of the treasury department

Elisa Vilorio Medina is a Technical Consultant of the Treasury Department of the Central Bank of Dominican Republic. Dr. Vilorio’s tenure responsibilities as Deputy Director of Foreign Reserve management for more than 10 years included the design and execution of the FX reserves portfolio investment strategy, quantitative analysis of risk management and strategic asset allocation. Furthermore, Dr. Vilorio was one of the lead managers of the successful Repurchase Operation of the Brady Bonds of the Central Bank of Dominican Republic in 2017.

Dr. Vilorio holds a PhD in Economics from Florida International University (FIU), a Master of Science in Finance and a post-graduate degree in Risk Management from the IAE Aix en Provence in France and is a Fulbright Alumni. She has presented her Macroeconomic research in different Annual meetings at the American Economic Association (AEA), Southern Economic Association (SEA), Midwest Economic Association (MEA), Eastern Economic Association (EEA), International Atlantic Economic Society (IAES) and International Trade and Finance Association (ITFA).

Also, Dr. Vilorio has participated in different projects with the World Bank under the Reserve Advisory Management (RAMP) program. Furthermore, Dr. Vilorio has published several articles in the Central Banking Journal related to active management of a portfolio of International Reserves and hedging strategies using interest rate futures.

Asad Qureshi

Senior financial sector expert

International Monetary Fund

Joaquin Tapia

Director of Operations

Bank of Mexico

Joaquin Tapia heads the International Operations Division at Banco de Mexico. He is primarily responsible for the international reserve’s management and providing global markets intelligence to the Board of Directors. Mr. Tapia worked for the Domestic Operations Division, where he led the FX desk and collaborated with the Monetary Programming Department. Prior to joining the bank Mr. Tapia was an investment banker at Merrill Lynch and also a chief economist for the Mexican Deposit Insurance Corporation (IPAB). Mr. Tapia earned a B.A. degree in Economics from the Universidad Iberoamericana and a M.A. in Math Finance from Columbia University.

Germano Machado

Deputy head, corporate risk and benchmarks department

Central Bank of Brazil

Germano Machado joined Banco Central do Brasil (BCB) in 2012 and is the Deputy Head of Corporate Risks and Benchmarks Department, where he coordinates teams that implement the Enterprise Risk Management framework that ensures that timely, uniform and transparent risk data and methodologies strengthen both the institution’s governance, by enabling managers to make more informed, efficient and accountable decisions, and its long term resilience, by means of an enterprise-wide management of its internal controls, the support of a robust business continuity process and maintenance of a solid risk culture. During most of his early years at BCB, he was involved with financial risk management related to  the bank’s balance sheet, particularly with controls, financial model developments for strategic asset allocation and deployment of systems needed for the investments of the international reserves. His current responsibilities include providing technical support to managers and the Board on processes related to measurement/assessment of all risk dimensions that affect the bank as a whole (financial, operational, strategic etc.), on integration of business continuity management across all time-sensitive functions and processes, and on compliance management (which, in BCB, is a task carried out by the Risk Department).

Germano holds a degree in Electrical Engineering and a second one in Economic Sciences, both from University of São Paulo, Brazil.

14:3015:00

Scene setting for working groups: communication scenarios

14:30 - 15:00

In this session, the theme of communicating reserve management performance will be introduced in a short panel. Following this, participants will be assigned to three working groups, each led by a facilitator, to discuss three scenarios in more detail.

 

When communicating internally, to the board, or externally, to the media and the public, reserve managers face a variety of challenges. However, at the core is the need to explain their mission, the restrictions they face, and the dynamics of the markets. The working groups will discuss critical questions regarding:

  • Best practices
  • Communication strategies
  • The communication challenges around the results listed below
Cleopatra Davis

Head of banking

Central Bank of The Bahamas

Cleopatra Davis serves as Head of Banking, Central Bank of The Bahamas. In this role, she has oversight of payments operations, foreign and domestic debt markets activities, and eSolutions.


Cleopatra serves as co-chair, for a dynamic payments modernization – digital fiat currency – strategic initiative undertaken by the Bank. She also serves on other of the Bank’s committees including the Investment Committee and Monetary Policy Committee.
She is also a member of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI), Digital Financial Services (DFS) Working Group, and a member of the DFS Gender Diversity sub-committee.


She is a Chartered Banker MBA (MCBIS), Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Certified Financial Services Auditor (CFSA), Certification in Risk Management Assurance (CRMA) and a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA). She is a member of the Chartered Bankers Institute in Scotland, ISACA, and past president of The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) Bahamas Chapter.

Asad Qureshi

Senior financial sector expert

International Monetary Fund

Odean B. White

Chief risk officer

Bank of Jamaica

Mr Odean White, JP, M.Sc. Economics, B.Sc. Actuarial Science (hons) is a career banking & finance professional with almost 20 years' experience within the Jamaican financial sector. His passion for risk management was cultivated during stints at two of the Caribbean's leading financial institutions, where he played key roles in the operationalization of their asset-liability and enterprise risk management frameworks. 

Mr White is currently the Chief Risk Officer at Bank of Jamaica, and enjoys sports, reading and spending time with his family. He is married to Alysia and together they have three children. 

15:0015:30

Networking break

10:45 - 11:30

15:3016:30

Working groups

15:30 - 16:30

In this session, there will be three separate groups all discussing the communication challenges around the results listed below:

 

Group 1: a central bank that has used 50% of its reserves in the past 6 months

Group 2: a central bank that has unsuccessfully diversified into a new asset class (1st year)

Group 3: a central bank that has seen the value of its portfolio increase by 23% over the past 12 months

16:3017:15

Presentation on working group findings

16:30 - 17:15

In this session, the working group respondents will report back on the discussion of their working group to the audience. Each group will have 15 minutes.

17:1517:30

Chair's closing remarks

17:15 - 17:30

CBDC - October 25th

08:3009:10

Registration and refreshments

08:15 - 09:10

09:1009:20

Chair's opening remarks

09:10 - 09:20

Rosbert Humphrey

Director, currency management department

Eastern Caribbean Central Bank

Mr Rosbert Humphrey has been employed at the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) for the past twenty two (22) years, twenty one (21) of which have been in the Currency Management Department, where he is currently the Director. His main duties include Forecasting, Ordering and Monitoring of currency stocks, and general management of the Currency Management Department. He is a certified Banknote Forensic Expert Witness and a Trainer in the delivery of Expert Witness Training in the Eastern Caribbean countries. Rosbert has been a presenter and discussant at several banknote and currency seminars, workshops and training courses.

Rosbert is a native of St Vincent and the Grenadines, and holds a Bachelors of Science Degree in Economics and Accounting and a Masters of Science Degree in Finance.

09:2010:00

Keynote address: CBDC the story so far

09:20 - 10:00

Valda Henry

Deputy governor

Eastern Caribbean Central Bank

Valda Frederica Henry is the Deputy Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank. She is VF Inc.’s former Chief Executive Officer and Principal Trainer. She formerly served as a Senior Investment Officer at the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank and played an instrumental role in the restructuring of the Investment Unit and the development of the Investment Management Framework of the Bank. She has lectured in, among other subjects, Human Resource Management and Accounting and has extensive experience in organisational reviews, job analyses and job descriptions working with companies in the Caribbean and served as the Coordinator of the Administrative Reform Program of the Commonwealth of Dominica. She has served as a Mentor for Executive and Middle Managers in many sectors including banking, hospitality and utility. Valda is also a Global Human Resources and Organizational Development Expert who excels at collaboration, with very strong interpersonal, communications, leadership and decision-making skills. She has developed and led numerous multi-year personal and professional development programs for youth in Dominica as well as individuals and businesses throughout the Caribbean. She hosted a weekly radio and twice- monthly television programs on which she discussed solutions to challenges faced by businesses in the region. She wrote a Column, “Business and Life,” for the online newspaper, “Dominica News Online. Valda holds formal qualifications in Financial Analysis and Planning, Governance and Business Management. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst, holds a PhD in Industrial Relations & Business, Masters of Business Administration, Bachelors in Management and Bachelors in Law. She is a Certified Global Professional in Human Resources, Society for Human Resource Management, Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) and an Accredited Director. She is also a Certified ProNet Trainer and a Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Practitioner and a Certified “Train the Trainer” for InfoDev and the Women Innovators Network in the Caribbean (WINC).

10:0010:45

Panel: will CBDCs be built on digital identity?

10:00 - 10:45

  • How to collect the necessary data to develop a digital identity  
  • How to prevent money laundering and fraud
  • How will verification procedures differ between wholesale and retail models?
Francisco Rivadeneyra

Director of CBDC and fintech policy

Bank of Canada

Francisco Rivadeneyra in the Director for CBDC & FinTech Policy at the Bank of Canada. In this role he leads a team developing policy advice in areas of central bank digital currency, electronic money and payments, and the implications for central banks of broader financial innovations. He also is an active researcher working in the intersection of technology, payments infrastructures and finance.

Mr. Rivadeneyra holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Chicago.

Carlos Cantu

Economist, representative office for the Americas, Monetary economics department

Bank for International Settlements

Carlos Cantú joined the BIS in the spring of 2016. He obtained his MA and PhD in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles. Before obtaining his PhD, he worked for the Bank of Mexico in the Economic Research Department. He is part of the secretariat of the BIS Consultative Group on Innovation and the Digital Economy Technical Task Force on CBDCs.

Alexandre Stervinou

Director - cash and retail payments policy and oversight directorate

Banque de France

Alexandre Stervinou is currently Director in the Cash and Retail Payments Policy and Oversight Directorate at the Banque de France, a 50+ staff directorate in charge of strategic policy orientations for, and the oversight of, all types of retail payments, with a focus on fostering innovations in those fields (e.g. CBDC with the digital euro). The Directorate also has a direct responsibility on cash anti-counterfeiting matters. Prior to this, Alexandre held a Deputy Director role in the Market Infrastructures and Innovations Directorate and, between 2019 and 2021, he was a member of the Financial Stability Board (FSB) Secretariat, where he mostly dealt with innovation related matters on the G20 agenda for financial services, and more specifically on cutting-edge topics such as cross-border payments, cybersecurity, crypto-assets and stablecoins, BigTechs, cloud services, artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Between 2015 and 2019, Alexandre was the Head of the Non-cash Means of Payment Oversight division at Banque de France, in charge of policy and oversight issues for cashless payments. In this role, he was the Secretary of the Observatory for the Security of Payment Means, chaired by the Governor of Banque de France, and Secretary of the National Payments Committee. To this end, he contributed to the development of a national and European retail payment strategy supported by Banque de France, in collaboration with the private sector.

Alexandre has represented the central bank since 2008 in various international (G20, G7) and European committees related to payments, cybersecurity and innovation, notably working on regulation, supervision and oversight frameworks, and is currently also a member of the digital euro project steering group.

Alexandre started his career in the private sector, working in the financial services and telecom industry

Jesse Leigh Maniff

Senior financial institution policy analyst

Federal Reserve Board

Jesse Leigh Maniff is a Senior Financial Institution Policy Analyst in the Digital Innovations Policy Program at the Federal Reserve Board. She was previously a Payments System Research Specialist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Jesse received an A.B. in public policy from Brown University and a JD from the University of Michigan Law School, where she served as a contributing editor of the Michigan Journal of Law Reform. Her research focuses on digital currencies and their underlying technologies, consumer protection and antitrust concerns in financial services, and empirical legal studies.

10:4511:30

Networking break

11:20 - 11:50

11:3012:15

Panel: cross-border payments in CBDC - progress and plans

11:30 - 12:15

  • How can CBDCs improve the interoperability of cross border payments?
  • How can private vendors work with central banks to help cross border payments progress?  
  • Instant payments and alternative solutions
Jim Cunha

Senior vice president

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

Jim Cunha is the Executive Vice President of Secure Payments and FinTech Research and Interim COO at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.  His entire career has focused on the interrelationship of payments, security, technology and innovation.

Cunha leads the Federal Reserve’s Secure Payment efforts, which seeks to help reduce fraud in the U.S. payments system through collaboration with industry participants. 

Cunha is also spearheading the Boston Fed’s efforts to study distributed ledger technology, or blockchain, to determine potential benefits and risks in financial services for internal and external uses. He is specifically focused on the evolution of the technology and its potential impact on the financial services sector.  He is also responsible for the Bank’s technology research related to central bank digital currencies (CBDC), including a joint research effort with MIT’s Digital Currency Initiative.   

Cunha has worked at the Boston Fed since 1984. Prior to that, he worked at Fleet National Bank. He holds a bachelor’s in accounting and philosophy from Northeastern University and a bachelor’s in computer science from Rhode Island College.

Carlos Eduardo Brandt

Head of Pix management and operations

Central Bank of Brazil

Carlos Eduardo Brandt is the head of Pix Management and Operation team at Banco Central do Brasil. Graduated in engineering and law, specialized in finance and law, has been working for the last 20 year in payments, led Pix design and implementation process in Brazil and is currently leading and driving Pix's evolving agenda. Brandt coordinates Pix Forum, an permanent advisory committee, whose purpose is to support BCB in its role of establishing Pix rulebook.

Andrea Oconitrillo Rojas

Head of the centro de innovación financiera (CIF) , CONASSIF, superintendencies

Central Bank of Costa Rica

Master’s in finance with a specialization in FinTech from the IE Business School in Madrid, graduated with honors in Business Administration from the University of Costa Rica and she passed Level II of the CFA examination.

Andrea has more than ten years of experience at the Central Bank of Costa Rica, where her functions focused on issues of technological innovation and climate change. She has led technological projects and collaborated in the creation of a newly stablished financial innovation hub called CIF within the regulatory and supervisory entities of the Costa Rican financial system.

Additionally, she is a professor at the National Distance Education University in Costa Rica, designing a pioneering course on FinTech and Digital Banking in the country.

Alexandre Stervinou

Director - cash and retail payments policy and oversight directorate

Banque de France

Alexandre Stervinou is currently Director in the Cash and Retail Payments Policy and Oversight Directorate at the Banque de France, a 50+ staff directorate in charge of strategic policy orientations for, and the oversight of, all types of retail payments, with a focus on fostering innovations in those fields (e.g. CBDC with the digital euro). The Directorate also has a direct responsibility on cash anti-counterfeiting matters. Prior to this, Alexandre held a Deputy Director role in the Market Infrastructures and Innovations Directorate and, between 2019 and 2021, he was a member of the Financial Stability Board (FSB) Secretariat, where he mostly dealt with innovation related matters on the G20 agenda for financial services, and more specifically on cutting-edge topics such as cross-border payments, cybersecurity, crypto-assets and stablecoins, BigTechs, cloud services, artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Between 2015 and 2019, Alexandre was the Head of the Non-cash Means of Payment Oversight division at Banque de France, in charge of policy and oversight issues for cashless payments. In this role, he was the Secretary of the Observatory for the Security of Payment Means, chaired by the Governor of Banque de France, and Secretary of the National Payments Committee. To this end, he contributed to the development of a national and European retail payment strategy supported by Banque de France, in collaboration with the private sector.

Alexandre has represented the central bank since 2008 in various international (G20, G7) and European committees related to payments, cybersecurity and innovation, notably working on regulation, supervision and oversight frameworks, and is currently also a member of the digital euro project steering group.

Alexandre started his career in the private sector, working in the financial services and telecom industry

12:1513:45

Networking lunch

12:15 - 13:45

13:4514:30

Panel: stablecoins and CBDCs - coexistence or competition?

13:45 - 14:30

  • Stablecoins and CBDCs: definitions, developments and divergence
  • How are risk profiles changing?
  • Regulatory frameworks: what is the direction of travel?
Julapa Jagtiani

Senior economic advisor and economist

Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia

Julapa Jagtiani joined the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia as a special advisor in the Supervision, Regulation, and Credit Department in 2008. In this role, she has conducted research and participated in or led several supervisory policy and implementation projects, including CCAR stress testing, recovery and resolution plans, and Basel II qualification reviews for large and complex financial institutions, with a focus on the use of quantitative methods and models for risk management. She is also a fellow member of the Wharton Financial Institutions Center and a Central Bank Research Fellow at the Bank for International Settlements. A career highlight has been contributing to the discussion around the potential impacts of fintech and considerations for shaping future fintech regulations that protect consumers and encourage innovation. 

Previously, Jagtiani was a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Banks of Kansas City and Chicago. Before joining the Federal Reserve System in 1998, she was associate professor of finance at Baruch College and assistant professor of finance at Syracuse University.

Jagtiani has made significant contributions in the fields of financial institutions, financial markets, and bank supervision and regulation. She publishes research in top finance journals, organizes conferences to connect regulators with academics and industry leaders, and is a frequent speaker at conferences and forums. Her research areas include banking policy-related issues, including too big to fail, systemic risk and financial stability, Basel II capital regulations, mergers and acquisitions, mortgages and home equity issues, and credit risk models and management. Her more recent research has focused on issues related to fintech, use of alternative data and AI/ML in credit decisions, small business lending, and community bank mergers.

Jagtiani has been active in the community and has served on the board of directors and finance committees at various organizations, including the Leadership Council Board of Directors for the American Red Cross, the Center for Practical Bioethics, and the Parents Council at Johns Hopkins University; she also belongs to the Union League of Philadelphia. Jagtiani has a Ph.D. in finance and an M.B.A. from New York University’s Stern School of Business, where she held the Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship.

 

Adolfo Sarmiento

Head of economic policy and markets

Central Bank of Uruguay

Adolfo Sarmiento is Head of Economic Policy and Markets, advising to the board at the Central Bank of Uruguay, he is responsible for the Monetary Policy implementation, and he’s also involved in FinTech specially in the CBDC Projects. He holds a degree in Economics of the University of the Republic of Uruguay, a Master in Applied Macroeconomics of the Catholic University of Chile and a PhD in Economics for the Catholic University of Argentina.

Nahiomy Alvarez

Markets specialist

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

Nahiomy Alvarez is a markets specialist in the Financial Markets Group at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. In this role, she contributes to various research work streams on key policy issues impacting domestic and global financial markets such as risk management, payments, financial technologies, and emerging risks. She has published on the issue of concentration in central clearing and climate change risk, among other topics. Prior to joining the Bank, Nahiomy was a strategy consultant at Hamilton Place Strategies in Washington, DC, where she advised Fortune 500 companies, trade associations, financial services institutions, and a wide range of other clients on policy issues. Before then, as a Public Policy and International Affairs fellow at the University of Michigan Ford School of Public Policy, and an Allison Davis Research Fellow, she conducted research at the intersection of tax, economic, and social policy. Today Nahiomy is a board member of a QuestBridge Regional Association and a mentor for Chicago Scholars. She is pursuing an MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and earned a B.A. degree in Political Economy from Williams College.

Jesse Leigh Maniff

Senior financial institution policy analyst

Federal Reserve Board

Jesse Leigh Maniff is a Senior Financial Institution Policy Analyst in the Digital Innovations Policy Program at the Federal Reserve Board. She was previously a Payments System Research Specialist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Jesse received an A.B. in public policy from Brown University and a JD from the University of Michigan Law School, where she served as a contributing editor of the Michigan Journal of Law Reform. Her research focuses on digital currencies and their underlying technologies, consumer protection and antitrust concerns in financial services, and empirical legal studies.

14:3015:00

Scene setting for working groups: CBDC design

14:30 - 15:00

In this session, the theme of CBDC design will be introduced in a short panel. Following this, you will move into three working groups. The working groups, each led by one of the panellists, will discuss three perspectives of diversifying the portfolio in more detail.

 

For central banks, the journey of creating a CBDC starts with design. Across the world, we have seen several frameworks built by the central banks themselves or through private sector models. The working groups will discuss critical questions regarding:

  • CBDC design
  • CBDC use cases
  • Security strategies
Carlos Cantu

Economist, representative office for the Americas, Monetary economics department

Bank for International Settlements

Carlos Cantú joined the BIS in the spring of 2016. He obtained his MA and PhD in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles. Before obtaining his PhD, he worked for the Bank of Mexico in the Economic Research Department. He is part of the secretariat of the BIS Consultative Group on Innovation and the Digital Economy Technical Task Force on CBDCs.

Adolfo Sarmiento

Head of economic policy and markets

Central Bank of Uruguay

Adolfo Sarmiento is Head of Economic Policy and Markets, advising to the board at the Central Bank of Uruguay, he is responsible for the Monetary Policy implementation, and he’s also involved in FinTech specially in the CBDC Projects. He holds a degree in Economics of the University of the Republic of Uruguay, a Master in Applied Macroeconomics of the Catholic University of Chile and a PhD in Economics for the Catholic University of Argentina.

Sharmyn Powell

Chief risk officer

Eastern Caribbean Central Bank

Ms Sharmyn Powell has been employed at the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank for over 25 years and currently holds the position of Chief Risk Officer.  She leads the Office of Corporate Strategy and Risk Management with responsibility for Enterprise Risk Management, Compliance, Strategic Plan development and monitoring and Business Continuity Management. 

Prior to assuming this role, she served in various capacities at the Bank including, Deputy Director, Accounting Department, Director, Currency Management Department and Director, Support Services Management Department.  She is the Chairperson of the Bank’s Fintech Working Group, which is leading the implementation of the DCash Pilot Project for the issuance of a block-chain based digital version of the EC Currency. 

Ms Powell is a Certified Accountant (ACCA), and also carries the designations of Chartered Director (C. Dir) and Audit Committee Certified (A.C.C). 

15:0015:30

Networking break

10:45 - 11:30

15:3016:30

Working groups

15:30 - 16:30

In this session, there will be three separate groups all discussing an element of CBDC design as listed below.

 

Group 1: How can central banks issue a privacy preserving CBDC?

Group 2: Buy or build – how can a central bank decide which CBDC model is best suited to them?

Group 3: How important is interoperability when designing a CBDC and how can this be implemented?

16:3017:15

Presentation on working group findings

16:30 - 17:15

In this session, the working group respondents will report back on the discussion of their working group to the audience. Each group will have 15 minutes.

17:1517:30

Chair's closing remarks

17:15 - 17:30