This new infrastructure will have a data vault, which will contain and protect all the Bank’s relevant information. Likewise,  7 The sole exception in the past 31 years was a brief period in 2008, when a capital increase of the Bank by the Treasury materialized, under  the Law of Fiscal Responsibility (Law No. 20,128). 9  we have continued to strengthen protection mechanisms against cyber-attacks, updating and incorporating controls aimed at reducing the risks of unauthorized access to systems and information leaks. As regards the purpose of the Bank’s work, we have been expediting the identification and implementation of opportunities in the field of advanced data utilization, using technologies such as machine learning and artificial intelligence, among others. We expect that this will have a positive impact on the community, such as having greater power to anticipate risks by generating alerts or using other data sources, thus strengthening the Bank’s functions. Meanwhile, we have been closely monitoring all the developments associated with digital payment methods. As part of this follow-up, our participation in research groups of multilateral institutions has been active 8. Meanwhile, we have been closely monitoring all the developments associated with digital payment methods. As part of this follow-up, our participation in research groups of multilateral institutions has been active, especially on digital money issued by central banks. The digital issuance of central bank money is gaining more space in the discussion agenda at different international organizations, and the repercussions of the current sanitary crisis are accelerating this debate even more.

Among the factors behind these differences are the date that the first cases appeared, the speed of the spread of new cases, how strictly containment measures were adopted and the response of the population. In the case of China, the greatest impact of the pandemic was recorded in the first quarter. Peru, on the other hand, saw a dramatic drop in the second quarter, as strict nationwide quarantine was implemented. Incoming information for Chile suggests that activity is picking up in sectors that had been particularly hard hit, such as retail and some services (Figure 5). This reveals that some activities have managed to adapt more quickly to new forms of operation, notably a more intense use of online sales and teleworking. In contrast, sectors such as construction, which are highly intensive in on-site work, have suffered greater than expected consequences, given the territorial and time extension of the quarantines. Because of its highly contagious nature, the pandemic caused a particularly sharp contraction in demand and supply in socially intensive areas, directly affecting the incomes of businesses and individuals. This has had a strong impact on the labor market, including self-employment. Thus, in the moving quarter ending in July, the annual drop in employment affected slightly more than 1.8 million jobs. About half of this figure corresponds to salaried jobs, mostly formal. Another 760,000 interrupted occupations correspond to non-salaried workers (i.e. self-employed workers and employers).