{"id":14065,"date":"2025-04-08T09:49:43","date_gmt":"2025-04-08T13:49:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/?p=14065"},"modified":"2025-04-08T09:49:44","modified_gmt":"2025-04-08T13:49:44","slug":"its-been-a-privilege","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/insights\/its-been-a-privilege","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s been a privilege"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>By Atul Bhatia, CFA<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"well b-blue-tint-4 mb-3\">\n        <h2 class=\"h6\">Key points<\/h2>\n        <ul class=\"list-spaced\">\n          <li>\n            The dollar\u2019s reserve status may not be as important to the U.S.\n            economy as is often assumed.\n          <\/li>\n          <li>\n            Issuers of reserve currencies face fiscal and trade headwinds that are\n            problematic for the U.S.\n          <\/li>\n          <li>\n            We think reserve holders are likely to slowly diversify into other\n            currencies, helping reduce the risks of the transition.\n          <\/li>\n        <\/ul>\n      <\/div>\n      <!-- ################ -->\n      <p>\n        \u201cAn exorbitant privilege\u201d is how former French President Val\u00e9ry Giscard\n        d\u2019Estaing once referred to the U.S. government\u2019s ability to issue the\n        global reserve currency.\n      <\/p>\n      <p>\n        And there\u2019s no question \u2013 in our minds \u2013 that the dollar\u2019s role as the world\u2019s\n        savings vehicle contributed to U.S. economic success in the last 75 years.\n        But currency leadership has less helpful consequences as well, including\n        fiscal and trade imbalances. With the dollar\u2019s role in the global economy\n        evolving \u2013 and in our view likely declining \u2013 we think this is an opportune\n        moment for investors to consider what comes next and how changing currency\n        appetites are likely to impact the global economy.\n      <\/p>\n      <p>\n        Contrary to popular wisdom, we believe there\u2019s a strong case to be made\n        that the exorbitant privilege of reserve status is now a net liability for\n        the U.S. and that a shift to a more balanced global currency reserve\n        basket is likely a more stable framework for global economic activity. At\n        the same time, a potential declining role for the dollar represents the\n        weakening of another global unifying force, with likely negative\n        implications for U.S. leadership and possibly global political stability.\n      <\/p>\n      <!-- SECTION -->\n      <h2>The good<\/h2>\n      <p>\n        Currency reserves are simply an economist\u2019s way of describing how a nation\n        chooses to store its savings. Countries save for many reasons, but their\n        primary goal is to secure access to food, fuel, and other critical inputs\n        in the event of a domestic economic crisis. Countries could choose to save\n        these materials directly \u2013 like the U.S. does with its strategic petroleum\n        reserve \u2013 but that requires significant storage and defense costs. Most\n        countries instead hold a basket of foreign currencies, relying on their\n        ability to trade those holdings for needed goods and services. Since World\n        War II, the majority of world savings has been held in U.S. dollars; the\n        greenback\u2019s current share of global saving is roughly 60 percent.\n      <\/p>\n      <p>\n        This reliance on the U.S. currency for savings has two main implications.\n      <\/p>\n      <p>\n        First, countries that hold dollars want to make sure that trade continues\n        to be denominated in dollars. They\u2019ve bought into the ecosystem, and if\n        trade starts shifting over to rubles or euros or yuan, then their dollar\n        savings may not be helpful in a crisis. A country could try to switch to a\n        different currency, but that\u2019s an expensive \u2013 and risky \u2013 move: make the wrong\n        choice or move too soon and your country could be locked out of vital\n        markets. It\u2019s much easier to perpetuate the current system and support the\n        dollar as the trade vehicle.\n      <\/p>\n      <p>\n        For the U.S., having the dominant currency involved in global trade\n        matters. The theoretical benefit is that it eliminates the risk that the\n        U.S. cannot buy needed inputs. That\u2019s nice, but given the size of the U.S.\n        economy, not a lot of folks were losing sleep over that risk. The real\n        benefit of the dollar\u2019s role in trade, in our view, is that small and\n        midsize U.S. companies have a much easier time expanding into export\n        markets. Hedging currency risk is complicated and often involves a\n        tradeoff between protecting margin and satisfying customers. A U.S.-based\n        exporter selling in dollars avoids those costs and headaches, making it\n        easier for firms to begin exporting earlier in their corporate\n        development.\n      <\/p>\n      <p>\n        The other main benefit to having the reserve currency is that it helps\n        keep government borrowing costs down. Once foreigners have acquired\n        dollars, they need a low-risk, easily accessible way to hold them, and\n        that tends to mean owning U.S. Treasury bonds. This demand for government\n        securities has helped reduce long-term borrowing costs, giving a financial\n        boost to the U.S.\n      <\/p>\n      <!-- SECTION -->\n      <h2>Not all sunshine<\/h2>\n      <p>\n        But not all the consequences of being the source of the world\u2019s reserve\n        currency are positive.\n      <\/p>\n      <p>\n        To begin with, there\u2019s the basic issue of how foreigners can acquire\n        dollars. There are only three ways:\n      <\/p>\n      <ul class=\"list-spaced\">\n        <li>They can be given them, through financial aid;<\/li>\n        <li>\n          They can borrow them, typically by having central banks exchange blocks\n          of their respective currency in a so-called \u201ccurrency swap\u201d arrangement;\n        <\/li>\n        <li>Or they can earn dollars through a trade surplus.<\/li>\n      <\/ul>\n      <p>\n        Since countries tend to grow their reserves over time, the U.S.\n        effectively needs to run a persistent trade deficit if it wants the dollar\n        to retain its share of reserves. The only alternative means of providing\n        dollars to foreign savers is through large amounts of financial aid,\n        potentially to strategic rivals, or by having the U.S. Federal Reserve run\n        an extremely complicated and potentially risky book of multicurrency swap\n        lines globally. Both alternatives are political and economic nonstarters,\n        in our view, so the U.S. can choose between a trade deficit or a\n        diminishing percentage of global reserves in the long run. It\u2019s not a\n        coincidence that the U.S. has run trade deficits for decades.\n      <\/p>\n      <p>\n        Once foreigners have acquired dollars, they need a place to store them,\n        and that usually means Treasury bonds. The flipside of being the reserve\n        currency and borrowing cheaply is that a country must issue enough debt to\n        keep up with reserve holder demand. A key reason why countries have shied\n        away from euro reserves, in our view, is the lack of truly eurozone-wide\n        debt and the insufficiency of German and other perceived low-risk\n        sovereign bonds. The recent push by Germany to expand issuance to fund\n        defense spending could help increase the attractiveness of the euro as a\n        reserve currency, in our view.\n      <\/p>\n      <p>\n        Certainly, U.S. fiscal deficits go well beyond what is required for\n        foreign reserve growth, but even if the U.S. federal government shifted\n        toward a more balanced budget, a persistent budget surplus is problematic\n        for a reserve currency issuer.\n      <\/p>\n      <!-- SECTION -->\n      <h2>Too expensive?<\/h2>\n      <p>\n        When the U.S. began running persistent fiscal deficits in the 1980s, the\n        stock of federal debt outstanding was around 30 percent of GDP. Today,\n        existing debt is closer to 120 percent of GDP. The numbers for trade are\n        directionally similar, although to a lesser degree.\n      <\/p>\n      <p>\n        Separating out the impact of currency reserve status on debt accumulation\n        and trade levels is beyond art versus science. There are simply too many\n        variables moving simultaneously to reach robust conclusions.\n      <\/p>\n      <p>\n        We think it\u2019s fair to say, however, that a reasonable person could\n        conclude that the marginal cost of additional debt accumulation is higher\n        at 120 percent of GDP than 30 percent of GDP, and that expanding U.S.\n        trade deficits from their current levels will likely exacerbate domestic\n        economic and political concerns. In short, the longer the U.S. runs these\n        imbalances, the greater the costs become.\n      <\/p>\n      <p>\n        The benefits of reserve currency status, arguably, have not kept pace.\n      <\/p>\n      <!-- SECTION -->\n      <h2>What comes next?<\/h2>\n      <p>\n        So far, we\u2019ve been discussing the dollar\u2019s reserve currency role and its\n        implications for the U.S., but the issue is, of course, global in nature.\n        For nations accumulating reserves, we see a real possibility that tariffs\n        and their impact on international trade prove to be the driver for\n        rethinking reserve strategy.\n      <\/p>\n      <p>\n        As we\u2019ve discussed elsewhere, we think the Trump administration\u2019s tariff\n        policies are designed to exploit foreign nations\u2019 reliance on American\n        consumption. It\u2019s an incredibly powerful lever, in our view, for the U.S.,\n        and by extension it\u2019s a key strategic liability for both allies and\n        rivals. While the Trump tariffs are the most immediate and explicit\n        reminder of other countries\u2019 economic dependence on the U.S., there\u2019s a\n        long history of Washington using unilateral economic sanctions and\n        freezing dollar assets. This has generated significant international\n        pushback and resentment, primarily from organizations like the BRICS, a\n        multilateral group founded by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South\n        Africa.\n      <\/p>\n      <p>\n        Given the U.S.\u2019s increasing willingness to flex its economic might, we\n        would be surprised if countries did not seek to better balance their own\n        internal supply and demand, reducing reliance on the U.S. consumer. The\n        shift away from international trade is likely to lead to slower global\n        growth as the efficiencies from trade are lost. This is a dynamic that has\n        been going on for years, as we\u2019ve previously discussed in our <a \n        href=\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/insights\/worlds-apart-risks-and-opportunities-as-deglobalization-looms\"\n        title=\"Worlds apart: Risks and opportunities as deglobalization looms\">\u201cWorlds&nbsp;apart\u201d<\/a> series, but we believe tariff threats are likely to accelerate the\n        shift.\n      <\/p>\n      <p>\n        Countries tend to base their reserve balances on the value of their\n        imports, so if countries shift away from trade and toward more of a\n        balanced domestic economy, they will likely find themselves with excess\n        reserves.\n      <\/p>\n      <p>\n        Our expectation is that most countries would maintain current reserve\n        levels. This would essentially allow them to \u201cgrow into\u201d their current\n        stock of savings versus aggressively drawing down reserve totals to match\n        a reduced import bill. The reason for our view is simple \u2013 drawing down\n        reserves is a risky move, and central bankers by their nature tend to be\n        risk averse.\n      <\/p>\n\n      <!-- EXHIBIT -->\n      <h3>\n        Emerging currencies fill the space created by the U.S. dollar\u2019s declining\n        role in global reserves\n      <\/h3>\n      <h4>Share of global currency reserves<\/h4>\n      <div class=\"row mb-4\">\n        <div class=\"col-lg-10 col-md-8 col-sm-8 col-xs-10 col-xxs-12\">\n          <img decoding=\"async\"\n            src=\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/assets\/wp-content\/uploads\/global\/reserve-currency-privilege-en-chart-1.png\"\n            alt=\"Share of global currency reserves\"\n            class=\"img-fluid mb-1-half\"\n            aria-describedby=\"chart1desc\"\n          \/>\n          <p class=\"sr-only\" id=\"chart1desc\">\n            The chart shows the percentage of global reserves held in various\n            currencies: the U.S. dollar; the euro; other traditional reserve\n            currencies (Japanese yen, British pound, Swiss franc); and major\n            non-traditional reserve currencies (Chinese renminbi, Canadian dollar,\n            Australian dollar). The percentage of reserves held in U.S. dollars\n            fell to roughly 58% in 2023 from roughly 71% in 2000. Approximately\n            half of the dollar\u2019s decline was offset by increases in the major\n            non-traditional reserve currencies, which were not significant before\n            the early 2010s and now account for roughly seven percent of global\n            reserves.\n          <\/p>\n          <ul class=\"rbc-legend\">\n            <li class=\"rbc-legend-item\">\n                <div class=\"rbc-legend-bar c-warm-grey\"><\/div>\n                Other\n            <\/li>\n            <li class=\"rbc-legend-item\">\n                <div class=\"rbc-legend-bar c-warm-yellow\"><\/div>\n                Major non-traditional (CAD, AUD, RMB)\n            <\/li>\n            <li class=\"rbc-legend-item\">\n                <div class=\"rbc-legend-bar c-seaweed\"><\/div>\n                Other traditional (JPY, GBP, CHF)\n            <\/li>\n          <\/ul>\n          <p class=\"disclaimer\">\n            Source &#8211; RBC Wealth Management, International Monetary Fund\n          <\/p>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n      <p>\n        Once nations re-enter a phase of reserve accumulation, we would expect\n        them to add to their savings with a focus on non-dollar currencies. This\n        is exactly the behaviour we\u2019ve seen since the turn of the century.\n      <\/p>\n      <p>\n        The risk that a country would move to immediately shift its currency\n        composition \u2013 essentially sell Treasuries and dollars and buy euros or\n        yen \u2013 is mainly theoretical. No other currency offers sufficient high\n        quality, stable value, liquid investment alternatives to act as a dollar\n        replacement. Unless or until that changes, the practical choice, in our\n        view, is dollar savings or lower savings.\n      <\/p>\n      <p>\n        If this interpretation proves correct, the short-term outcome is nearly\n        ideal for the U.S. Investing nations would continue to roll over their\n        Treasury holdings and dollar-based international trade would remain the\n        norm. Some degree of regional trade would likely migrate to a different\n        currency, but if most countries continue to hold Treasuries, the incentive\n        to trade in U.S. dollars remains.\n      <\/p>\n      <p>\n        Longer term, the U.S. would no longer enjoy its exorbitant privileges, but\n        it would also not face the inherent need to provide both dollars and debt\n        to the world. Less helpfully, a world that is less dependent on the U.S.\n        consumer is also less invested in the health of the U.S. economy.\n        Historically, foreign nations have not had much reason to push hard during\n        economic negotiations with the U.S.; after all, for most of the world a\n        healthy U.S. economy was key for their domestic economies\u2019 production and\n        profits. From our vantage point, if and when countries shift toward\n        regional trade partners and their own domestic buyers, all sorts of\n        bilateral discussions look less cooperative and more like a zero-sum game.\n      <\/p>\n      <!-- SECTION -->\n      <h2>Bretton Woods, Bancor, and beyond<\/h2>\n      <p>\n        The idea that the existence of a single reserve currency can create global\n        imbalances is nothing new. John Maynard Keynes is perhaps best known for\n        his statement that \u201cin the long run, we\u2019re all dead,\u201d but he also was one\n        of the first to identify the inherent instability of a single currency\n        acting as the global reserve. He made a push at the Bretton Woods\n        Conference in the 1940s to base international trade on a global unit of\n        account called the Bancor, rather than the U.S. dollar.\n      <\/p>\n      <p>\n        The idea was to have all trade settled in Bancors and run through an\n        international clearing union. Countries that ran either a Bancor surplus\n        or a deficit would be charged a penalty rate on the imbalance. This would\n        provide incentives for trade to remain largely balanced. The idea has been\n        refloated on occasion, most notably following the global financial crisis,\n        but it has failed to be adopted largely because, in our view, countries\n        have been unwilling to cede that degree of control to an international\n        body. While we think the idea of a global unit of account has significant\n        merit, we see the geopolitical barriers as nearly insurmountable.\n      <\/p>\n      <p>\n        Instead of a radical transformation, we believe currency reserves are\n        likely to go through an evolutionary process. Falling trade will lead to\n        slower global growth and declining reserve needs, but the reduction will\n        likely be done passively. Some countries may choose to rebalance part of\n        their holdings away from the dollar, but the lack of \u201csafe\u201d investment\n        options for non-dollar currencies will act as a constraint, in our\n        opinion.\n      <\/p>\n      <p>\n        While any shift away from dollar reserves is likely to be presented as a\n        negative for the U.S. economy, we are not convinced the facts support that\n        interpretation. Instead, we think we\u2019ve reached the point Keynes foresaw,\n        where the fiscal and trade implications of issuing the reserve currency\n        outweigh the rather limited benefits of reserve status.\n      <\/p>\n      <p>\n        In other words, we believe that in the long run Keynes may be dead, but\n        he\u2019s still got a point.\n      <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The dollar\u2019s role in the global economy is evolving, and its \u201cexorbitant privilege\u201d looks to be as well. We examine the greenback\u2019s role as the reserve currency and the implications of the world\u2019s changing currency appetites.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":14066,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"rbcwm_post_date":"2025-04-08T10:23:53","editor_notices":[],"rbc_url_alias":"","rbcwm_featured_desktop_image_position":"","rbcwm_featured_mobile_image_position":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[149,500,475,498,49,499],"rbcwm_content_owner":[390],"rbcwm_need":[],"rbcwm_segment":[],"rbcwm_solution":[],"rbcwm_topic":[212],"rbcwm_channel":[],"rbcwm_format":[],"class_list":["post-14065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-analysis","tag-debt","tag-euros","tag-tariffs","tag-u-s-currency","tag-u-s-dollar","tag-yen","rbcwm_content_owner-pag","rbcwm_topic-global-insights"],"acf":{"rbcwm_subtitle":"The dollar\u2019s role in the global economy is evolving, and its \u201cexorbitant privilege\u201d looks to be as well. We examine the greenback\u2019s role as the reserve currency and the implications of the world\u2019s changing currency appetites.","rbcwm_post_author":"","rbcwm_custom_breadcrumb_text":"","rbcwm_custom_breadcrumb_link_url":"","rbcwm_disclaimers":{"add_disclosures":["Yes"],"perspective_disclaimer":"","expandable":"","omit_from_pages":[],"disclaimer_footnote":""},"rbcwm_insight_cta_id":[8376],"rbcwm_pagination":{"next_link":"","next_link_text":"Next article","previous_link":"","previous_link_text":"Previous article"},"rbcwm_video_duration":"","article_time":"","rbcwm_enable_toc":false,"rbcwm_toc_selector":"h2"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.8 (Yoast SEO v26.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>It\u2019s been a privilege<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The dollar\u2019s role in the global economy is evolving, and its \u201cexorbitant privilege\u201d looks to be as well. We examine the greenback\u2019s role as the reserve currency and the implications of the world\u2019s changing currency appetites.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/insights\/its-been-a-privilege\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"It\u2019s been a privilege\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The dollar\u2019s role in the global economy is evolving, and its \u201cexorbitant privilege\u201d looks to be as well. We examine the greenback\u2019s role as the reserve currency and the implications of the world\u2019s changing currency appetites.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/insights\/its-been-a-privilege\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"RBC Wealth Management - Asia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-08T13:49:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-08T13:49:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/02\/scl-globe-sitting-on-various-currencies-hor-EN.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"627\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"taravandenberg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"11 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/insights\/its-been-a-privilege#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/insights\/its-been-a-privilege\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"taravandenberg\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/#\/schema\/person\/8803578712bd073b70bbc17e6909b59b\"},\"headline\":\"It\u2019s been a privilege\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-08T13:49:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-08T13:49:44+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/insights\/its-been-a-privilege\"},\"wordCount\":2299,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/insights\/its-been-a-privilege#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/04\/globe-sitting-on-various-currencies.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"debt\",\"euros\",\"tariffs\",\"u.s. currency\",\"u.s. dollar\",\"yen\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Analysis\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/insights\/its-been-a-privilege\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/insights\/its-been-a-privilege\",\"name\":\"It\u2019s been a privilege\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/insights\/its-been-a-privilege#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/insights\/its-been-a-privilege#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/04\/globe-sitting-on-various-currencies.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-08T13:49:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-08T13:49:44+00:00\",\"description\":\"The dollar\u2019s role in the global economy is evolving, and its \u201cexorbitant privilege\u201d looks to be as well. We examine the greenback\u2019s role as the reserve currency and the implications of the world\u2019s changing currency appetites.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/insights\/its-been-a-privilege#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/insights\/its-been-a-privilege\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/insights\/its-been-a-privilege#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/04\/globe-sitting-on-various-currencies.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/04\/globe-sitting-on-various-currencies.jpg\",\"width\":3210,\"height\":2140,\"caption\":\"transparent marble globe sitting on various currencies\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/insights\/its-been-a-privilege#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"It\u2019s been a privilege\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/\",\"name\":\"RBC Wealth Management - Asia\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/#organization\",\"name\":\"RBC Wealth Management\",\"alternateName\":\"RBC Wealth Management\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/02\/rbc.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/02\/rbc.png\",\"width\":3000,\"height\":2000,\"caption\":\"RBC Wealth Management\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/#\/schema\/person\/8803578712bd073b70bbc17e6909b59b\",\"name\":\"taravandenberg\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/807f9a5b689d28ecee3262e00b8755e7d4849ada61e3144de1a2d65c713bfc12?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/807f9a5b689d28ecee3262e00b8755e7d4849ada61e3144de1a2d65c713bfc12?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"taravandenberg\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"It\u2019s been a privilege","description":"The dollar\u2019s role in the global economy is evolving, and its \u201cexorbitant privilege\u201d looks to be as well. We examine the greenback\u2019s role as the reserve currency and the implications of the world\u2019s changing currency appetites.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/insights\/its-been-a-privilege","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"It\u2019s been a privilege","og_description":"The dollar\u2019s role in the global economy is evolving, and its \u201cexorbitant privilege\u201d looks to be as well. We examine the greenback\u2019s role as the reserve currency and the implications of the world\u2019s changing currency appetites.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/insights\/its-been-a-privilege","og_site_name":"RBC Wealth Management - Asia","article_published_time":"2025-04-08T13:49:43+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-04-08T13:49:44+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":627,"url":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/02\/scl-globe-sitting-on-various-currencies-hor-EN.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"taravandenberg","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"11 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/insights\/its-been-a-privilege#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/insights\/its-been-a-privilege"},"author":{"name":"taravandenberg","@id":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/#\/schema\/person\/8803578712bd073b70bbc17e6909b59b"},"headline":"It\u2019s been a privilege","datePublished":"2025-04-08T13:49:43+00:00","dateModified":"2025-04-08T13:49:44+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/insights\/its-been-a-privilege"},"wordCount":2299,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/insights\/its-been-a-privilege#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/04\/globe-sitting-on-various-currencies.jpg","keywords":["debt","euros","tariffs","u.s. currency","u.s. dollar","yen"],"articleSection":["Analysis"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/insights\/its-been-a-privilege","url":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/insights\/its-been-a-privilege","name":"It\u2019s been a privilege","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/insights\/its-been-a-privilege#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/insights\/its-been-a-privilege#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/04\/globe-sitting-on-various-currencies.jpg","datePublished":"2025-04-08T13:49:43+00:00","dateModified":"2025-04-08T13:49:44+00:00","description":"The dollar\u2019s role in the global economy is evolving, and its \u201cexorbitant privilege\u201d looks to be as well. We examine the greenback\u2019s role as the reserve currency and the implications of the world\u2019s changing currency appetites.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/insights\/its-been-a-privilege#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/insights\/its-been-a-privilege"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/insights\/its-been-a-privilege#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/04\/globe-sitting-on-various-currencies.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/04\/globe-sitting-on-various-currencies.jpg","width":3210,"height":2140,"caption":"transparent marble globe sitting on various currencies"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/insights\/its-been-a-privilege#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"It\u2019s been a privilege"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/","name":"RBC Wealth Management - Asia","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/#organization","name":"RBC Wealth Management","alternateName":"RBC Wealth Management","url":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/02\/rbc.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/02\/rbc.png","width":3000,"height":2000,"caption":"RBC Wealth Management"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/#\/schema\/person\/8803578712bd073b70bbc17e6909b59b","name":"taravandenberg","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/807f9a5b689d28ecee3262e00b8755e7d4849ada61e3144de1a2d65c713bfc12?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/807f9a5b689d28ecee3262e00b8755e7d4849ada61e3144de1a2d65c713bfc12?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"taravandenberg"}}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/04\/globe-sitting-on-various-currencies.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-11 15:47:27","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"RBC Wealth Management - Asia","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia","push-errors":false,"last_revision_date":"2025-04-07 10:28:22","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14065"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14065\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14073,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14065\/revisions\/14073"}],"acf:post":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rbcwm_cta\/8376"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14065"},{"taxonomy":"rbcwm_content_owner","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rbcwm_content_owner?post=14065"},{"taxonomy":"rbcwm_need","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rbcwm_need?post=14065"},{"taxonomy":"rbcwm_segment","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rbcwm_segment?post=14065"},{"taxonomy":"rbcwm_solution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rbcwm_solution?post=14065"},{"taxonomy":"rbcwm_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rbcwm_topic?post=14065"},{"taxonomy":"rbcwm_channel","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rbcwm_channel?post=14065"},{"taxonomy":"rbcwm_format","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rbcwm_format?post=14065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}