BIS official urges central banks to treat household financial health as core mandate
A speech by Fernando Restoy, chair of the BIS Financial Stability Institute, delivered at the G-24/AFI Policymakers' Roundtable in Bangkok, sets out why household financial health should inform how central banks pursue existing financial stability and monetary policy mandates, including through cryptoasset-related risks and new indicators.
- Restoy explicitly states he is not suggesting financial health should become a new central bank objective.
- The G20 working definition cited identifies four dimensions of financial health: managing day-to-day obligations, coping with shocks, pursuing future goals, and feeling financially secure.
- Restoy cites a recent FSI paper (Frost et al 2026) finding that expanded financial inclusion has not automatically translated into better financial health across countries.
- He identifies two required actions: better measurement of household financial health, and research into whether financial health indicators can complement existing financial stability and monetary policy frameworks.
- On cryptoassets, he notes volatility, fraud prevalence, absence of deposit-insurance-like protections, and lower financial literacy in markets with the fastest-growing crypto use as risks to financial health.