ECB’s Nagel: AI, Collaboration, Foresight Key to Future-Proofing Central Banks

9 September 2025

ECB’s Nagel: AI, Collaboration, Foresight Key to Future-Proofing Central Banks
Joachim Nagel, president of the German Bundesbank, at the European Central Bank Governing Council meeting in Ljubljana on October 17, 2024. Photo by Adrian Petty/ECB.

By David Barwick - FRANKFURT (Econostream) – Central banks must embrace artificial intelligence, deepen cross-border cooperation and systematically prepare for uncertainty if they are to remain resilient in an era of rapid change, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said Tuesday.

Speaking to the Innovation Summit of the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland, Nagel said that AI was already reshaping the way central banks work. At the Bundesbank, generative AI is available across business areas, from banking supervision to administrative tasks, he noted. “AI acts as an assistant – supporting our experts, but not replacing them,” he said, stressing that trust, accountability and human judgment must remain paramount.

The European Union’s AI Act provides a regulatory benchmark, but central banks must also invest in governance, skills and transparency, Nagel said. “Striking the right balance between innovation and caution will be crucial,” he added.

Cross-border collaboration was another pillar of resilience, Nagel said, citing tokenization, climate change and financial stability as global challenges requiring joint responses. The BIS Innovation Hub shows “what we can achieve when we join forces,” he said. “We are not in competition with one another; rather, we share a common mission to ensure monetary and financial stability”.

Nagel also highlighted foresight as a growing focus at the Bundesbank. Exploring scenarios such as climate change impacts can help central banks prepare for structural risks even amid uncertainty, he argued. “Foresight is not about predicting the future; it is about preparing for it,” he said.

Concluding, Nagel called on central banks to harness technology while safeguarding stability and trust. “Together, we can ensure that central banks remain a cornerstone of stability and progress in the years to come,” he said.