Ousmène Mandeng, Director, Economics Advisory, is a highly rated and recognised thought leader on digital monies and the digital transformation in payments. He is a Senior Advisor to Accenture and has worked on the leading central bank digital currency (CBDC) projects including E-Krona, Jura, Khokha 2, mBridge, Digital Euro.
Ousmène has worked for more than 20 years in finance and in international organisations. He was a managing director at Prudential Financial and UBS Investment Bank, leading the global coverage of official financial institutions. He was with the International Monetary Fund, last as Deputy Division Chief coordinating work on IMF lending policies and the use of IMF resources in Latin America, including as a Resident Representative.
He has commented periodically in the financial press, including for the Financial Times and The American Banker, and contributes to the Bretton Woods Committee blog. He also presents regularly at leading international forums on digital monies and the international financial system.
He is a Visiting Fellow at the School of Public Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science, a Fellow of the Reinvention Bretton Woods Committee and a Member of the Bretton Woods Committee and Robert Triffin International. He is fluent in German, English, French and Spanish. He holds an MPhil in economics from the University of Cambridge and a PhD from the LSE.
Dr Ousmène Mandeng explores the seemingly simple question, ‘What is money?’. While most people have a general idea of what money is, few truly understand where it comes from, how it's issued, or what determines its value. The rise of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has sparked new debates about the nature of money and its role in society. In his talk, Dr Mandeng lays the foundation for understanding the concept of money, exploring its origins, issuance, and value, and how modern developments like cryptocurrencies are reshaping our perceptions of it.
Dr Ousmène Mandeng delves into the potential of digital monies and why they are becoming a critical extension of the payments landscape. He highlights what aspects of digital currencies are truly innovative and which remain conventional, exploring specific use cases where digital currencies are particularly well-suited. Attendees will gain a clearer understanding of the innovations surrounding digital currencies and their growing importance in modern finance, equipping them with insights into the future of payment systems.
International payments are often costly, slow, and opaque, to the extent that several international policy initiatives have been launched to address these issues. The challenges are compounded by a decline in correspondent banking relationships and the fact that most currencies cannot easily be used for cross-border transactions. In this session, Dr Ousmène Mandeng explores how digital currencies are emerging as a potential solution to some of these problems. Attendees will gain insights into the key issues in international payments, their broader economic and financial repercussions, and why it is increasingly urgent to find effective solutions.
The U.S. dollar remains the dominant currency in international payments, playing a pivotal role in global finance. This overwhelming international dependence on the dollar has long been a subject of debate. During the 1960s, the term "exorbitant privilege" emerged to describe the unique benefits the U.S. enjoys by issuing the world's primary reserve currency. In this session Dr Ousmène Mandeng will explore the origins of the dollar's dominance and examine its implications for the functioning of the international economy.
2024 marks the 80th anniversary of the Bretton Woods Conference, which led to the creation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which remains the only formal multilateral framework for international economic policy cooperation. However, the influence of the IMF has diminished over time, partly due to declining support for multilateralism. Dr Ousmène Mandeng provides an overview of the IMF's role in international governance and examines how it might shape global policy cooperation in a world facing increasing geopolitical fragmentation.
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