One of the priorities of the 2018–2022 Strategic Plan is to strengthen the Bank’s understanding of and dialogue with the wider community through strategic communications management. Therefore, one of the first decisions adopted in this area was the creation of the Institutional Affairs Division, which is in charge of the Communications Area, the Public Affairs Management, and the Information Access and International Relations units.

This structure has allowed the Bank to address the challenge of developing an integrated management of its various communication platforms and tools, not only to project a consistent public image, but also to listen to and engage with its different stakeholder groups.

At the same time, the institution maintains a firm commitment to active and passive transparency, as evidenced in its compliance with the obligations imposed by the Constitution and legislation. In fact, the Board has adopted resolutions that go even further in the direction of transparency than required by law.

Communication is fundamental for the functioning of an autonomous public institution, and it is one of the foundations for achieving the objectives established in the Bank’s Basic Constitutional Act. The tools and actions designed for disseminating this communication aim to facilitate equitable and timely access to information, thereby contributing to the formation of expectations on the part of economic agents who react to the Bank’s decisions.

One of the main platforms is the Bank’s website, which is where all the decisions adopted by the Central Bank are first released. Once they are published on the website, a series of complementary actions is set in motion to heighten the impact on different audiences. These include a mass mailing to the media, press conferences, interviews, public presentations, and the publication of support messages on social media.

The primary goal of every diffusion campaign is to reduce information asymmetries. This is achieved by amplifying the messages so they reach not only industry specialists, but also informed audiences and the general public.

For example, monetary policy decisions are reported at 6:00 p.m. on the final day of each Monetary Policy Meeting, via the publication of a press release on the website and the electronic mailing of the same communication to all the media outlets.

In the case of the Monetary Policy Report and the Financial Stability Report, following the presentation to the Senate, the Governor holds a press conference to present the main highlights and answer questions from journalists on the content of the reports. The press conference is streamed online, and the full video is uploaded in the Bank’s YouTube channel. Subsequently, the Bank coordinates a set of additional actions, such as interviews with Board Members by the written and audiovisual press and presentations at conferences and seminars both in Santiago and in other regions of the country, which are attended by authorities, analysts, academics, businesspeople, executives, union representatives, and university students.

The main messages are also published on social media, and all press inquiries are answered promptly.

The Bank also releases extensive statistical information on economic activity and the balance of payments, as well as expectations surveys and qualitative research. All of this information is widely diffused via the same communication channels.

In 2018, the Central Bank was mentioned around 12,000 times in the national media, which breaks down as follows: 46.9% digital news sites; 21.2% Santiago print media; 14.2% radio programs; 9.2% television news programs; and 8.6% regional print media. This includes press notes generated directly by the Bank, as well as news items that mention the Bank’s decisions, data, or even its management model.

The Central Bank’s Communications Policy stipulates that no media outlet will receive exclusive information on the Bank’s decisions or macroeconomic, financial, or statistical reports that have market repercussions, thereby upholding the principle of equitable provision of information. The only exceptions to this policy are interviews and public education campaigns.

8.1 Community Relations

An institution’s reputation is determined by the set of perceptions and understanding held by its stakeholder groups with regard to the institution’s work. It is the result of the organization’s behavior over time, based on the fulfillment of its commitments with those groups, on the one hand, and the image that these audiences have developed based on the factors that they consider most important, on the other. Consequently, the Bank, as a technical body, has prioritized actions aimed at establishing closer relations with the larger community, as part of its communication strategy. This is evident in the set of initiatives developed over the course of the year.

In 2018, activities related to financial education, extension, and cultural outreach provided opportunities to engage with different stakeholder groups, which complemented the coordination of other actions related to transparency and public relations.

8.2 Financial Education

For the Central Bank, financial and economic education is an essential tool for empowering people to make informed decisions that safeguard their well-being and quality of life, while also contributing to the stability of the financial system.

8.2.1 Central to Your Life

Since 2004, the Bank has been developing a series of actions oriented toward financial education, largely focused on the community of students and teachers, so as to contribute to financial empowerment.

The initiatives in this area are organized through the community outreach program, Central to Your Life, which explains economic concepts and processes in a simple and approachable manner. It is hoped that through the program, people will be able to make more informed decisions, which should in turn contribute to improving their quality of life.

Central to Your Life (www.centralentuvida.cl) is the platform for organizing the Bank’s various financial education initiatives, including the online course, City of Opportunities; the high school contest, Economics Up Close; workshops for teachers; and the Central Bank tour program.

8.2.2 Tour Program

The Central Bank also opens its doors to the public. The tour program is available all year.

8.2.3 Financial Education Fair

October was Financial Education Month, which was organized jointly this year, for the first time, by the Bank, the Finance Ministry, the Financial Market Commission, the National Consumer Service (Sernac), the Superintendence of Banks (SBIF), the Superintendence of Pensions (SP), and ChileCompra.

During the month, the organizers held a series of activities, culminating with the Financial Education Fair. The fair was held on Paseo Bandera, a pedestrian street in the center of Santiago, where stands were erected for interacting with the public. Participants received pamphlets on issues related to personal finances. The Bank distributed educational material and held a contest based on questions from the “EconómicaMente” Board game.

8.2.4 Global Money Week

As in years past, the Bank participated in Global Money Week in 2018. This initiative, organized by Child and Youth Finance International, raises awareness on the importance of financial literacy among children and youth around the world.

14 March

Seminar on Financial Education among Chilean Youth: Evidence and Challenges

Developed by the University of Chile and the University of La Frontera and organized by the Central Bank, in the framework of the National Financial Education Strategy, the seminar provided a space for discussing the state of financial education for Chilean youth and main challenges pending area.

15 March

School visit

Central Bank Governor Mario Marcel welcomed a group of students from the Ramón Barros Luco Electro-Technical Industrial School from the community of La Cisterna. In his talk, he stressed the importance of learning about saving and sustainable money management in order to be able to make good financial and economic decisions in life.

8.2.5 Teacher Workshops

On 31 July 2018, the Bank signed a collaboration agreement with the Education Quality Agency, aimed at broadening the scope of the financial education initiatives developed by the Bank for the school community, by accessing the Agency’s links throughout Chile.

During the year, the two organizations jointly organized four face-to-face teacher training workshops in Santiago, Puerto Montt, and Puerto Natales. The workshops were attended by 120 teachers and included the design of infographs on economic concepts to be distributed on digital platforms.

8.2.6 Macroeconomic Statistics Workshops

In 2018 the Central Bank continued its program to promote the use and understanding of the statistics compiled by the Bank.

In May, an all-day workshop was held in Punta Arenas, covering the main concepts, methodology, and results of the balance of payments, national accounts, monetary statistics, and foreign exchange statistics.

Additionally, presentations on the results of the 2017 Household Finance Survey were held in Valparaíso and Talca and on foreign exchange statistics in Santiago.

8.2.7 Journalist Training Seminar

The tenth annual training seminar for journalists was held in 2018, organized in conjunction with the Chilean Chapter of the Inter-American Association of Economic and Financial Journalists (AIPEF). The objective of the seminar is to contribute to the professional development of journalists interested in expanding or deepening their knowledge on economic issues related to the Bank’s work.

This year, the series included seven workshops held between June and November, led by Board Members and Central Bank staff. The workshops covered a range of topics, including macroeconomic policy, financial stability, technological innovation in the financial industry, and the institutional national accounts.

The training sessions were attended by 62 journalists from different communications media, including national and international news agencies, newspapers, radio broadcasters, magazines, online media, communications agencies, public organizations, and private businesses.

8.2.8 Know Your Banknotes Program

8.2.8.1 Face-to-Face Workshops

This was the twelfth year that the Bank presented its training workshops, Know Your Banknotes, a diffusion program created by the Treasury Management. The free workshops are open to the general public, with the goal of disseminating the general characteristics of the banknotes in circulation and their security features, so as to maintain and strengthen the integrity of this payment means and to reinforce people’s confidence in the payment system.

In 2018, the face-to-face workshops were attended by 2,441 people, mainly cashiers from the retail sector, wholesalers, and commercial banks, as well as student cashiers in training at technical institutes and the general public. Workshops were held in Santiago and in the cities of Antofagasta, Talca, Curicó, and Concepción. This year, the program included participation by the casinos, which generally handle a lot of cash.

8.2.8.2 Materials for Diffusion

In the year, 31,700 informational products were distributed, including brochures and pamphlets containing information on the banknotes’ security features and their features to facilitate identification by the visually impaired. The Bank also released a new pamphlet on what to do if you receive a damaged banknote, primarily targeted at small businesses.

8.2.8.3 Training for Trainers

As part of the “Know Your Banknotes” initiative, the Bank continued its “Training for Trainers” Program, which has greatly expanded the scope of diffusion on banknote security features. This program allows businesses and institutions to train their own staff to give workshops to company employees or students, using materials and special training provided by the Central Bank. The initiative, which was launched in 2014, had agreements with 44 businesses as of December 2018, including technical training institutes for student cashiers throughout Chile.

8.2.8.4 Police Training Workshops

The Bank also continued its training program for the national police institutions (Carabineros de Chile and Policía de Investigaciones de Chile), which was launched in 2013 with the objective of facilitating police interaction with citizens in relation to the recognition of legal banknotes. In 2018, there were 30 national workshops and three seminars for forensic experts, reaching a total of 2,068 officers.

8.2.8.5 Informational Campaigns

Due to the increase in the number of cash transactions at certain times of the year, the Bank works with the national police force to implement informational campaigns aimed at reinforcing the messages of the Know Your Banknotes program.

During the Independence Day holidays in September 2018, an initiative was coordinated with the Carabineros de Chile, wherein officers visited shopping areas to explain the banknote security features, demonstrate how to verify the authenticity of banknotes, and hand out print materials. The campaign was widely covered by the media. The Carabineros de Chile then replicated the campaign at the national level.

In December, a similar campaign was coordinated in conjunction with the Investigative Police of Chile for the year-end holidays.

The Bank’s work with police officers, the Know Your Banknotes Program, and the ongoing exchange of technical knowledge with other central banks are all part of the regular duties undertaken by the Central Bank as guarantor of the integrity of the cash-related means of payment.

8.3 Cultural Outreach

As has become tradition, the Bank participated in National Heritage Day, an initiative promoted by the National Monuments Council of Chile since 1999 as an opportunity for people to learn more about the country’s cultural, historical, and architectural heritage.

In 2018, the two-day event took place over the weekend of 26–27 May, when over 3,150 people visited the Bank. The tour of the Central Bank building started at the main entrance on Agustinas 1180 and included the Governor’s office, the Board Room, and the Numismatic Museum.

8.4 Transparency

The Bank adheres to the principle of transparency in the exercise of its public functions, as stipulated in Article 8 of the Chilean Constitution, the provisions of the institution’s Basic Constitutional Act, and transparency legislation that expressly includes the Central Bank of Chile. The latter includes Law 20,285 of 2009, on public access to information; Law 20,730 on 2014, on lobbying and special interest representation; and Law 20,880 of 2016, on probity in public service.

In 2018, the Bank continued to comply fully with regulations aimed at increasing the transparency of public institutions.

8.4.1 Access to information

In 2018 the Bank implemented a project to improve its platform for handling requests for access to information, under the framework of Law 20,285.

The main changes to the platform include the introduction of an easy-to-use electronic form, consistent with good practices for institutions and agencies required to comply with transparency legislation.

The Bank is also working on a project to strengthen other channels of communication with the public, through the development of an integrated platform for managing queries and other public interactions related to the Bank’s functions, services, and actions. The objectives include identifying the most important areas of public interest and providing timely responses in line with the communication guidelines established by the Bank for its different stakeholder groups.

In the year, the Bank received a total of 88 requests for information (22% more than in 2017).

Of the total, 74% of the requests were submitted via the transparency section of the Bank’s website. The average response time was 12 business days from the date the request as received, which is well below the maximum of 20 business days established in the respective legislation.

Since the law entered into effect, no complaints have been filed against the Bank in the Santiago Court of Appeals, in accordance with the provisions of Sections 65 bis and 69 of the Bank’s Basic Constitutional Act.

8.4.2 Law on Lobbying

The Law on Lobbying is applicable to the Central Bank of Chile, and it establishes that the Governor, the Deputy Governor, and the other Board Members are subject to the obligations stipulated therein. The law further establishes that the legal obligations can be extended to other functionaries via Board Resolution, if their duties, responsibilities, or position within the Bank require that they be subject to the regulatory guidelines, if they possess substantial decisionmaking power, or if they are in a position of significant influence over others who do.

To date, 43 Central Bank authorities are subject to this law. The full list of their names and positions is available on the Bank’s website.

In 2018, the Central Bank authorities subject to the law had 207 meetings with lobbyists or special interest representatives, 99 business trips, and 116 donations or gifts received. All of these figures represent a reduction since 2017. For example, meetings decreased 7%; business trips, 10%.

All of this information was published on the Central Bank’s website, in the transparency and probity section, and on the Infolobby website of the Chilean Transparency Council, as specified in the Agreement signed on 25 May 2015.

8.4.3 Law on Probity

This law regulates the obligation of public authorities and functionaries to publicly declare their interests and equity. This obligation is applicable to the Board Members and General Manager of the Central Bank of Chile, in accordance with the terms established by the Law on Probity and the provisions on the declaration of conflicts of interest, personal interests, and equity of Section 14 of the Bank’s Basic Constitutional Act.

The current conflict-of-interest statements submitted by the Bank’s authorities in 2018 are published on the institution’s website, in the transparency and probity section, and on the Transparency Council’s website (www.Infoprobidad.cl).

8.5 International Relations

Section 38 of the Basic Constitutional Act authorizes the Central Bank to participate in and work with international or foreign financial bodies, either independently or in representation of the Government of Chile. This entails an extensive schedule of activities over the course of the year, requiring the presence of Central Bank authorities and executives in international meetings. It is also necessary to participate in coordination mechanisms with other central banks, as well as seminars and meetings for the discussion of cross-border financial and macroeconomic issues, which contribute to better decisions in these matters.

In 2018, the Bank maintained both its regular international activities and a wide range of additional activities. The former included the bimonthly and annual meetings of governors of members of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS); the BIS meeting of alternate governors; the spring and annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank; the annual meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB); the meeting of central bank governors of South America (formerly Mercosur and associated countries); the Meeting of Central Bank Governors of CEMLA and of the CEMLA Committee of Alternates; and the meetings of the Institute of International Finance (IIF).

Additional activities in which the Bank participated included international seminars, conferences, and meetings held both in and outside Chile, official visits from foreign authorities, missions from international organizations, and technical visits by delegations from other central banks and institutions.

In Chile, these activities included the IMF Article IV mission and a visit by Robert Engle, professor at the NYU Stern School and the winner of the 2003 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.

The official visits by foreign authorities featured the Governor of the People’s Bank of China, YI Gang, who was accompanied by the General Director of the International Department; the Director of the International Department’s G20 Division; and the Representative of the Caribbean Region, all from the same institution. The Governors of the Central Bank of Chile and the People’s Bank of China singed an agency agreement for investing in the interbank bond market in China.

In the context of international cooperation, the Bank continued to prioritize staff exchange programs with other central banks. After signing a cooperation agreement in November 2017, the Central Bank of Chile and the Bank of Spain coordinated an exchange for their communication staff.

In other activities, the Governor of the Bank participated as a panelist for a round table organized by the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University in New York; was a panelist at the High-Level Conference organized by the IMF and the Swiss National Bank in Zurich; gave a talk to students of the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford, followed by a presentation at the Official Monetary and Financial Institute Forum (OMFIF) in London; gave a presentation for Chile Day in London, followed by a talk at the London School of Economics, with the participation of renowned economists Charles Goodhart and Ricardo Reiss; and participated as a speaker during the first session of the seminar on Navigating Normalization, held in Bangkok, Thailand, on the 75th anniversary of the Bank of Thailand and organized in conjunction with the OMFIF.

8.6 Seminars, Workshops, and Conferences

To support decision-making in relation to carrying out its mandate, the Central Bank aims to always be at the forefront of knowledge on all the issues related to its work, including monetary policy, financial policy, statistics, international and local fund management, cash management, technology, and corporate management.

To this end, the Bank organizes or participates in a wide range of seminars, conferences, and specialized workshops throughout the year, as well as specific courses attended by the Bank management and staff.

Below is a sample of the activities carried out in 2018.