Welcome to the website of the IMF’s Central Bank Transparency Code (CBT)

Here you will be able to easily access the CBT’s various components: (1) the main Principles, (2) the detailed Practices, and (3) the Annex with selected transparency practices from other relevant international financial standards.

A template to facilitate a CBT self-review can be accessed here. The Guidance Note for conducting a CBT review can be accessed here .

Key concepts in the CBT are underlined; using your cursor to hover over these will make the definition used in the CBT visible. The website also offers a free text search option.

Background

The CBT is an international code that allows central banks and their stakeholders to map transparency practices of the central bank to international best practices. The purpose of the CBT is to enhance transparency and accountability of the central bank and contribute to policy effectiveness. The CBT is not intended as a governance code.

The Code is built on a 5-pillar framework consisting of transparency principles on central bank (1) governance, (2) policies, (3) operations, (4) outcome of those policies and operations, and (5) official relations with government and other agencies (see figure below).

The Principles offer high-level guidance, whereas the Practices provide three levels of detailed transparency practices: core, expanded, and comprehensive.

The CBT is relevant to all IMF member countries’ central banks and takes their their diverse backgrounds into account, including with respect to the legal framework, governance arrangements, and levels of economic and financial development. This will help central banks and their stakeholders to determine if central bank transparency in practice is balanced, given the country-specific circumstances.

For more information, please see the IMF Policy Paper on the CBT here, or contact the IMF at CBT@imf.org.

For common questions about the CBT Portal, please see the FAQ page.