Title page
Contents
Abstract 1
Introduction 2
1. The principle of central banks' immunity 3
2. The continuous dominance of the US dollar as a reserve currency 4
3. Gold and "tokens" as international reserves 6
4. The internationalisation of the renminbi 8
4.1. The renminbi's growing role in cross-border payments 8
4.2. The development of alternative financial market infrastructures 11
Conclusion 13
References 15
Figure 1. The US dollar dominates global foreign currency reserves due to the depth and liquidity of its capital markets 4
Figure 2. Share of US dollar reserves holdings: Allies, adversaries and friends 5
Figure 3. Central bank net purchases of gold increased sharply over the past two years (RHS gold price) 6
Figure 4. Renminbi share of global payments over SWIFT doubled year-on-year excluding Russia 10
Figure 5. And renminbi payments over the CIPS accelerated at an even higher rate (includes Russia) 10