Managing Central Bank Solvency Through Turmoil
Managing Central Bank Solvency Through Turmoil
Chair and speakers
Chair: Robin Darbyshire
Former financial accountant
Bank of England
Robin Darbyshire is a chartered accountant who has worked, as an independent consultant for 10 years, mainly on central bank issues. He has undertaken a number of projects for the International Monetary Fund, including implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in central banks. He has also worked on a payments system at a middle eastern central bank. Previously he spent 19 years with the Bank of England, for 17 of which he was responsible for the Bank’s accounts. He was a founder member of the committee that devised the accounting framework and policies for the European System of Central Banks and has recently undertaken projects for the European Central Bank related to Eurosystem accounting. He has written a number of articles on issues in central bank accounting and regularly speaks at conferences on central bank finances.
Henrik Gardholm
Head of accounting division
Sveriges Riksbank
Henrik Gardholm is the head of the Accounting Division of the Sveriges Riksbank, which is responsible for the central bank’s financial reporting and budgeting. He is also a member of the Accounting and Monetary Income Committee at the European Central Bank (ECB). Mr. Gardholm joined Sveriges Riksbank in April 1998, in a role responsible for financial reporting. He was then promoted to his current position in February 2006. Prior to joining Sveriges Riksbank, he was an internal auditor at a commercial bank called Nordea as well as an authorised public accountant at KPMG.
Freyr Hermannsson
Former head of treasury
Former Central Bank of Iceland
Freyr Hermannsson is an experienced central banker and has worked with a dozen central banks and United Nations agencies since the turn of the century. He is an independent advisor focusing on sovereign asset and liability management, particularly balance sheet management and central bank policy solvency, reserve management and public debt management. He has hands-on knowledge of monetary and exchange operations, FX markets development, exchange rate regimes, FX regulations (incl. capital controls) and capital account liberalization, central banking recapitalization and related accounting issues.
Mr. Hermannsson initially joined the Central Bank of Iceland in 2000 and after several years in the private sector was drafted back into the central bank in Iceland’s 2008 financial crisis where he served as Head of Treasury. He led international reserves management, implemented central bank open market operations, negotiated government debt transactions, developed capital controls, and worked on crisis prevention and management during and after the crisis of 2008.
A mathematician by education, he holds a M.Sc. from Columbia University in Operation Research and a B.Sc. in Mathematics from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. He has lectured on the mathematics and economics of financial markets as an Adjunct Lecturer at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Iceland.
Anjeza Beja
Central bank consultant
Anjeza Beja is an experienced financial sector expert currently working as an independent international consultant on central bank issues. She has undertaken a number of projects in several countries for the International Monetary Fund related to IFRS implementation and capital adequacy for central banks. She has also worked with the World Bank and Alliance for Financial Inclusion on projects related to payment systems and payment services.
Previously she spent 12 years with the Bank of Albania, 5 of which as Director of Payments, Accounting and Finance where, among other things, she was in charge for IFRS and IFRS 9 implementation. Before that she worked in the Supervision Department in several managerial positions.
She holds a PhD in Economics from University of Tirana and has a bachelor in Finance, Banking and a bachelor in Law. She has also completed a Leadership Program in Financial Inclusion from Fletcher School at Tufts University.
Jonas Stulz
Head of portfolio management
Swiss National Bank
Jonas Stulz is Head of Portfolio Management and Deputy Head of Asset Management at Swiss National Bank (SNB). His teams of portfolio managers in Zurich and Singapore are responsible for the active management of the fixed income portfolios within SNB’s foreign currency reserves. These portfolios include government and supra-sovereign bonds (rates) as well as investment grade corporate bonds and covered bonds (credit). He is based in Zurich. Jonas joined SNB in 2003; prior to his current position, he was Head of Global Rates at SNB. Before that, he worked as a Senior Economist and as a Senior Portfolio Manager for this institution. He holds a master degree in Economics from University of St. Gallen and a doctorate in monetary macroeconomics from University of Basel. Furthermore, he is a Certified Financial Risk Manager (FRM) with the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP). Jonas Stulz is married with two children.
Dirk Broeders
Senior risk manager – financial markets division
The Netherlands Bank
Dirk Broeders is a Senior Financial Risk Manager at the Financial Markets Division of De Nederlandsche Bank and a Full Professor of Finance at the School of Business and Economics of Maastricht University. He served as a Fellow at the Financial Stability Institute of the Bank for International Settlements and is a former Executive Member of the International Organisation of Pension Supervisors. He has published widely on finance and obtained his Ph.D. from Tilburg University.
Anush Grigoryan
Chief financial officer
Central Bank of Armenia
Anush Grigoryan is the Chief financial officer at the Central Bank of Armenia leading financial planning, reporting and accounting teams. She is also a Board member at the Chamber of auditors and expert accountants of Armenia. Prior to this she has accumulated 10 + years of experience in external audit and financial reporting in accordance with IFRSs. Since May, 2022 Anush is an independent consultant, working on the implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards at central banks on behalf of the International Monetary Fund.
Anush has around 9 years of teaching experience at IFRSs, she is a UK chartered accountant, certified internal auditor and statutory (Armenia) external auditor. Currently she is doing an executive program at Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Bozena Gulija
Financial regulation and risk management expert
Former Croatian National Bank and European Court of Auditors
Bozena Gulija is a financial sector professional with primary expertise in banking regulation and risk management, whose experience spans the private and public sector across several jurisdictions (EU, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and Croatia). She has worked for private companies including ABN AMRO, Euroclear, State Street, Nordea, and Intesa Sanpaolo Group, and public institutions such as the European Court of Auditors, the Croatian National Bank, and the Institute for International Relations. Bozena has been actively collaborating with several professional and academic institutions through lectures and research projects (e.g. Warwick University, Zagreb University, IADI-BIS, Central Banking, Risk.net) and as an author and reviewer (e.g. Financial Regulation International, IFLR - International Financial Law Journal, Journal of Banking Regulation).
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bozenagulija
Agenda
14:00 – 14:15
Balance sheet management: course introduction and welcome
Course introduction session led by the chair
- Introductions and welcome from the chairperson
- Overview of the training course programme and speakers
- Discussion of participant expectations and areas of particular interest
Robin Darbyshire is a chartered accountant who has worked, as an independent consultant for 10 years, mainly on central bank issues. He has undertaken a number of projects for the International Monetary Fund, including implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in central banks. He has also worked on a payments system at a middle eastern central bank. Previously he spent 19 years with the Bank of England, for 17 of which he was responsible for the Bank’s accounts. He was a founder member of the committee that devised the accounting framework and policies for the European System of Central Banks and has recently undertaken projects for the European Central Bank related to Eurosystem accounting. He has written a number of articles on issues in central bank accounting and regularly speaks at conferences on central bank finances.
14:15 – 15:05
Monetary policy affecting supervisory priorities
- Delineation and/or interdependence between monetary, macro and micro prudential policy (especially related to the interest rate risk framework)
- Recent interest rates normalisation and focus of supervisory priorities on sensitivities to shocks in interest rates and credit spreads
- Impact of rising interest rates on central bank’s losses
Bozena Gulija
Financial regulation and risk management expert
Former Croatian National Bank and European Court of Auditors
Bozena Gulija is a financial sector professional with primary expertise in banking regulation and risk management, whose experience spans the private and public sector across several jurisdictions (EU, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and Croatia). She has worked for private companies including ABN AMRO, Euroclear, State Street, Nordea, and Intesa Sanpaolo Group, and public institutions such as the European Court of Auditors, the Croatian National Bank, and the Institute for International Relations. Bozena has been actively collaborating with several professional and academic institutions through lectures and research projects (e.g. Warwick University, Zagreb University, IADI-BIS, Central Banking, Risk.net) and as an author and reviewer (e.g. Financial Regulation International, IFLR - International Financial Law Journal, Journal of Banking Regulation).
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bozenagulija
15:05 – 15:15
Break
15:15 – 16:05
Effective reporting of central bank performance
- Reporting by function vs reporting by department: a comparison
- Strategies for an effective functional reporting
- Implications for transparency and interdepartmental cooperation
- Case study: how to report the costs (and income) by function.
Henrik Gardholm is the head of the Accounting Division of the Sveriges Riksbank, which is responsible for the central bank’s financial reporting and budgeting. He is also a member of the Accounting and Monetary Income Committee at the European Central Bank (ECB). Mr. Gardholm joined Sveriges Riksbank in April 1998, in a role responsible for financial reporting. He was then promoted to his current position in February 2006. Prior to joining Sveriges Riksbank, he was an internal auditor at a commercial bank called Nordea as well as an authorised public accountant at KPMG.
16:05 – 16:15
Break
16:15 – 17:00
The concept of “solvency” for central banks
- Importance of central bank financial strength and independence
- Technical insolvency vs Policy insolvency
- Relationship with the treasury
- Importance of methods of recapitalization
Freyr Hermannsson is an experienced central banker and has worked with a dozen central banks and United Nations agencies since the turn of the century. He is an independent advisor focusing on sovereign asset and liability management, particularly balance sheet management and central bank policy solvency, reserve management and public debt management. He has hands-on knowledge of monetary and exchange operations, FX markets development, exchange rate regimes, FX regulations (incl. capital controls) and capital account liberalization, central banking recapitalization and related accounting issues.
Mr. Hermannsson initially joined the Central Bank of Iceland in 2000 and after several years in the private sector was drafted back into the central bank in Iceland’s 2008 financial crisis where he served as Head of Treasury. He led international reserves management, implemented central bank open market operations, negotiated government debt transactions, developed capital controls, and worked on crisis prevention and management during and after the crisis of 2008.
A mathematician by education, he holds a M.Sc. from Columbia University in Operation Research and a B.Sc. in Mathematics from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. He has lectured on the mathematics and economics of financial markets as an Adjunct Lecturer at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Iceland.
14:00 – 14:50
Managing revaluations – options and implications for accounting for revaluations
- Role of revaluations for central banks and why they differ from commercial entities.
- Realized vs unrealized revaluations.
- How to account for them
- How central banks may use revaluations
Anush Grigoryan is the Chief financial officer at the Central Bank of Armenia leading financial planning, reporting and accounting teams. She is also a Board member at the Chamber of auditors and expert accountants of Armenia. Prior to this she has accumulated 10 + years of experience in external audit and financial reporting in accordance with IFRSs. Since May, 2022 Anush is an independent consultant, working on the implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards at central banks on behalf of the International Monetary Fund.
Anush has around 9 years of teaching experience at IFRSs, she is a UK chartered accountant, certified internal auditor and statutory (Armenia) external auditor. Currently she is doing an executive program at Stanford Graduate School of Business.
14:50 – 15:00
Break
15:00 – 16:00
Protecting policy solvency: the question of capital structures
- Evaluating the functions of central bank's capital
- Elements of capital
- Overview of models of profit and loss sharing across central banking
- Considerations for recapitalisation
- Relevant provisions of capital Elements in a central bank law
Robin Darbyshire is a chartered accountant who has worked, as an independent consultant for 10 years, mainly on central bank issues. He has undertaken a number of projects for the International Monetary Fund, including implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in central banks. He has also worked on a payments system at a middle eastern central bank. Previously he spent 19 years with the Bank of England, for 17 of which he was responsible for the Bank’s accounts. He was a founder member of the committee that devised the accounting framework and policies for the European System of Central Banks and has recently undertaken projects for the European Central Bank related to Eurosystem accounting. He has written a number of articles on issues in central bank accounting and regularly speaks at conferences on central bank finances.
16:00 – 16:10
Break
16:10 – 17:00
Functional basis of central bank balance sheets
- Why do central banks have balance sheets?
- Nature of central bank assets and liabilities
- Risks inherent in the balance sheet.
- Balance sheet trends in recent years
- Differences in central bank balance sheets
Anjeza Beja is an experienced financial sector expert currently working as an independent international consultant on central bank issues. She has undertaken a number of projects in several countries for the International Monetary Fund related to IFRS implementation and capital adequacy for central banks. She has also worked with the World Bank and Alliance for Financial Inclusion on projects related to payment systems and payment services.
Previously she spent 12 years with the Bank of Albania, 5 of which as Director of Payments, Accounting and Finance where, among other things, she was in charge for IFRS and IFRS 9 implementation. Before that she worked in the Supervision Department in several managerial positions.
She holds a PhD in Economics from University of Tirana and has a bachelor in Finance, Banking and a bachelor in Law. She has also completed a Leadership Program in Financial Inclusion from Fletcher School at Tufts University.
14:00 – 14:50
Balance sheet robustness and changing market conditions
- Evolving asset allocation.
- Risk drivers for volatility
- Historical returns of FX reserves & future return potential
- Equity capital, allocation to the provisions and profit distribution.
Jonas Stulz is Head of Portfolio Management and Deputy Head of Asset Management at Swiss National Bank (SNB). His teams of portfolio managers in Zurich and Singapore are responsible for the active management of the fixed income portfolios within SNB’s foreign currency reserves. These portfolios include government and supra-sovereign bonds (rates) as well as investment grade corporate bonds and covered bonds (credit). He is based in Zurich. Jonas joined SNB in 2003; prior to his current position, he was Head of Global Rates at SNB. Before that, he worked as a Senior Economist and as a Senior Portfolio Manager for this institution. He holds a master degree in Economics from University of St. Gallen and a doctorate in monetary macroeconomics from University of Basel. Furthermore, he is a Certified Financial Risk Manager (FRM) with the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP). Jonas Stulz is married with two children.
14:50 – 15:00
Break
15:00 – 16:00
Criteria for determining appropriate levels of capital for central banks
- Current arrangements for the specifying level of central bank capital
- Drivers for central bank capital
- Balance sheet growth highlight’s role of central bank capital
- Static versus dynamic capital
- Automatic vs discretionary models
- Developments in specifications of calculating level of central bank capital.
Dirk Broeders is a Senior Financial Risk Manager at the Financial Markets Division of De Nederlandsche Bank and a Full Professor of Finance at the School of Business and Economics of Maastricht University. He served as a Fellow at the Financial Stability Institute of the Bank for International Settlements and is a former Executive Member of the International Organisation of Pension Supervisors. He has published widely on finance and obtained his Ph.D. from Tilburg University.
16:00 – 16:10
Break
16:10 – 17:00
Balance sheets: interactive workshop and closing remarks
Robin Darbyshire is a chartered accountant who has worked, as an independent consultant for 10 years, mainly on central bank issues. He has undertaken a number of projects for the International Monetary Fund, including implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in central banks. He has also worked on a payments system at a middle eastern central bank. Previously he spent 19 years with the Bank of England, for 17 of which he was responsible for the Bank’s accounts. He was a founder member of the committee that devised the accounting framework and policies for the European System of Central Banks and has recently undertaken projects for the European Central Bank related to Eurosystem accounting. He has written a number of articles on issues in central bank accounting and regularly speaks at conferences on central bank finances.
Two weeks prior to your training course you will be given access to course materials. There will be a combination of articles, reports and presentations that will contribute to two hours of preparation time for the live content. Presentations for the sessions will also be held here subject to the speaker approval.