Page 231 - Contributed Paper Session (CPS) - Volume 7

CPS2069 Pamela Kaye A. T.
The primary role of Big Data in central banking operations is to
complement official statistics to address gaps in data sources, time lags, and
provide more timely insights for prudent policy making. The application of Big
Data include gathering sentiments from social media on central bank
communications, policy announcements, and consumer and/or business
expectations on the economic and financial conditions in the near-term.
Leading indicators or early warning indices may also be developed using Big
Data through scraping of information from the web, scanner codes, sensors,
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or even satellite images. Given the emerging interest in exploring the
Philippine central bank’s potential use of Big Data, surveying cross-country
experiences is indispensable to build a suitable framework:
Countries Big Data and Central Banking
South Korea Bank of Korea’s (BOK) Big Data Research Section started
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operations in 2017 to explore incorporation of Big Data in
generating official statistics (e.g., measuring GDP and
consumer-related data though social media platforms and
mobile devices)
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Indonesia Bank Indonesia’s (BI) Transformation Program uses Big Data
to transform information system towards an innovative
approach in decision-making. For instance, prior to interest rate
announcement, BI scours social media and news sites to gather
public perceptions and interest rate expectations to be
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forwarded to the Governor and the Board.
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Singapore Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) uses Big Data to gear
its financial sector towards the new digital economy through the
establishment of its Data Analytics Group. 14 Case studies
include using social media accounts to predict market
movements, defaults prediction, and consumer credit risk; and
the use of machine learning algorithms in trading patterns to
detect money-laundering transactions.
Japan Bank of Japan (BOJ) uses Big Data in evaluating a series of
economic statistics in improving the accuracy of its forecasts

9 Asian Development Bank study on nighttime light as a development indicator.
10 Source article retrieved from
http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=3036799
11 Transformation Program of Bank Indonesia will be implemented through 5 phases: (1)
Policy excellence, (2) Outstanding execution, (3) Institutional Leadership, (4) Motivated
Organization, (5) State of the art technology.
12 Source article retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/big-data-helps-
bank-indonesia-plug-gaps-in-official-figures
13 Sources: Monetary Authority of Singapore official website and various news and
publications
14 Source article retrieved from www.techinasia.com/mas-data-analytics-group
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