![](https://assets.weforum.org/article/image/EvTGRRML-PxAmWd6w3VTrC4sZvmC34ksVrQT5QkuREY.jpg)
What is a central bank?
They underpin the entire global financial system. But how do they work? And why do they matter so much?
Sophie Hardach is a writer with a specialism in economics. She has worked as a correspondent for Reuters news agency in Tokyo, Paris and Milan and has written for a number of publications including the Atlantic, the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph.