| Arvinder Bharath (International Monetary Fund)
| Beju Shah (Bank for International Settlements)

Session #27 of FNA’s CBDC Broadcast delves into Project Polaris- a collaborative initiative focusing on the exploration and analysis of potential risk and mitigation strategies associated with tokenized securities and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs)

Guest Arvider Bharath (IMF) and Beju Shah (Bank for International Settlements) joined FNA to guide us through the project, which aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of how these emerging financial technologies can impact the stability of the financial system. We also discussed the role and importance of technologies like blockchain and international collaboration as guests shared case studies and lessons learned from the project.

• The key takeaways from Project Polaris
• Recommended risk mitigation strategies
• Case studies and lessons learned from Project Polaris

| Larissa de Lima, Oliver Wyman Forum
| Erica Salinas, Amazon Web Services

In previous sessions of The CBDC Broadcast, we focused on the many motivations for rolling out a CBDC, from achieving higher financial inclusion and higher transactional efficiency to preserving monetary sovereignty by compensating for the declining use of cash and by countering the entrance of new private forms of digital currencies.

Session #8 of the CBDC Broadcast featured guests Larissa De Lima (Oliver Wyman Forum) and Erica Salinas (Amazon Web Services), who joined FNA to discuss their joint report: Retail Central Bank Digital Currency: From Vision to Design. The report sets a framework to support policymakers in evaluating the interdependencies between policy and technological choices and highlights the importance of ensuring CBDC motivations, design principles and policy decisions are properly aligned.

The session covered:

• The principles that influence CBDC design choices
• Key policy trade-offs when designing a CBDC
• What services a Central Bank may offer if it positions itself close to identify-based services
• The role the private sector plays in designing a CBDC
• How central banks can make CBDCs as attractive as possible without threatening financial stability
• The choices around ledger technologies for CBDCs
• The risks associated with the implementation of a CBDC system
• Whether a G7 bank is likely to introduce a CBDC in the next five years