Information, knowledge and systems management approaches for a new global reserve currency

Abstract

The global financial system appears to be heading for a new crisis, triggered in large part by growing and unsustainable levels of global debt. Reserve currencies are an essential element of the world's current financial infrastructure, and are widely recognized for their role in facilitating international transactions. History has taught us that such currencies are also quite transient, being subject to adjustments and changes as economic conditions evolve over time. The United States dollar now serves as the de facto world's reserve currency. However, this is unlikely to continue unchallenged and unchanged into the future. The G20 and the International Monetary Fund IMF appear to be now considering a reserve currency, such as the Special Drawing Rights SDR, which is obtained through participation of many currencies. The major question is not what will become the new global reserve currency, but how this new currency will be managed. One of the critical issues associated with this currency management effort is that of determining the information systems architecture that will be required, including whether an associated Service Oriented Architecture SOA would be helpful in managing this new global currency. An extremely important element in this currency determination activity is a strong governance protocol that all the governments and sovereigns will accept and comply with. Otherwise any new global reserve currency, regardless of whether it is associated with a major information systems architecture foundation, will likely be unsustainable. In this paper, we examine these issues.