Category Archives: Financial Stability

Climate Risk Is Financial Risk: Why Asia’s Central Banks Cannot Wait and How They Should Respond

Climate risks are intensifying while transition progress remains too slow. Against the backdrop, central banks face the practical challenge of containing the financial stability risks of delayed transition while enabling markets to fund credible pathways forward. Climate change can weaken banks, disrupt markets, raise sovereign risk, and undermine macroeconomic performance. For Asia-Pacific, the exposure is […]

How AI Can Reshape Financial Inclusion in Developing Asia

1. AI opens a new path to true financial inclusion beyond access in developing Asia Developing Asia has made major progress in financial inclusion since 2011, but effective use of financial services continues to lag behind access. Global Findex (2025) data show that account ownership rose from around 45% of adults in 2011 to about […]

Is There a Case for Regulating Stablecoins?

Stablecoins have become one of the most debated topics in contemporary financial policymaking, especially following the enactment of the GENIUS Act in the United States. Beyond the U.S.—and outside monetary jurisdictions whose exchange rate regimes and monetary policies are closely aligned with the U.S. dollar—policy responses have diverged significantly, ranging from outright bans, as in […]

Capital Flow Management during the Taper Tantrum

Emerging market economies often face acute challenges in the wake of sudden bouts of market volatility triggered by sharp capital outflows. Managing such turbulence—particularly when macroeconomic fundamentals offer limited support—requires a calibrated mix of conventional and unconventional policy responses. There is rarely a textbook solution to crises of this nature; central banks must deploy all available instruments with agility, while maintaining credible and consistent communication to anchor expectations.

Role of Cloud Services, AI and Technology in Shaping the Macro Architecture of the Financial System

Background The financial system has undergone a significant transformation in recent years, driven by rapid advancements in cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and other emerging technologies for payments. These have had a profound impact on how banks do business, people interact with banks, and customers make payments for goods and services. Advancements in digital technology […]

CBDCs vs. Stablecoins: Competing or Complementary Roles?

1. Introduction The digitalization, the rise of crypto-assets and the advancement of technologies, such as distributed ledger technologies, have fuelled an unprecedented wave of innovations in payments and spurred many Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) projects over the past decade[1]. Central banks worldwide have been actively exploring solutions to preserve financial stability and safeguard monetary […]

The Adoption of AI in SEACEN Member Central Banks and Considerations for Financial Stability

The purpose of this blog is to explore the adoption of AI in SEACEN’s member central banks (MCBs) and explore the risks to financial stability, and how central banks and regulators should respond.

From Unified Payment Interface to Unified Lending Interface: India’s Digital Journey Towards Financial Inclusion

The financial inclusion journey involves many legs: empowering citizens with a digital identity to open bank accounts; building a digital public infrastructure to facilitate low-cost interoperable payment services; and creating a technology platform to facilitate efficient delivery of frictionless credit. This blog takes readers through this journey in India.

Should Green Bonds be Structured to Safeguard Assets they Back in Bankruptcy?

Introduction Every investment activity whether “brown” or “green” requires funding. Such funding is typically obtained through bank loans or by issuing securities in the capital markets. The interest and principal amounts borrowed are repaid using the cash flows generated by the investment activities. But when these cash flows are insufficient to meet repayment obligations on […]