Ben S Bernanke: Opening remarks
Speech by Mr Ben S Bernanke, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System, at the Federal Reserve Conference on "Central Banking: Before, during, and after
the crisis", Washington DC, 23 March 2012.
More information about the conference, held at the Madison Hotel, Washington, DC, March 23-24, 2012, is
available on the Board's website.
* * *
Distinguished guests, colleagues, and friends: It is my privilege to welcome you to this
conference on "Central Banking: Before, During, and After the Crisis," which is jointly
sponsored by the Federal Reserve Board and the International Journal of Central Banking.
We hope that the conference will foster discussion among policymakers and researchers
about the evolving challenges facing central banks around the world. To help get that
discussion started, the conference will feature original research on monetary policy,
macroprudential regulation, and the provision of liquidity, topics that are obviously highly
relevant to the public policy missions of the Federal Reserve and other central banks. The
proceedings from this conference will be published in a special issue of the journal and
disseminated to researchers in central banks and academic institutions worldwide.
Needless to say, the events of the past few years pose serious challenges to the
conventional, pre-crisis views and approaches of central banks and other financial
supervisors. The crisis, the recession it sparked, and the subsequent slow recovery,
especially in the advanced economies, have demonstrated that we have much to learn about
the workings and vulnerabilities of our modern, globalized financial system and its
interactions with the broader economy. In responding to these stressful financial and
economic developments, the Federal Reserve and other central banks have had to deploy a
variety of new tools and approaches to carry out their responsibilities regarding monetary
policy and the provision of liquidity, tools about which we still have more to learn. Finally, in
the wake of the crisis, the Federal Reserve and other regulatory agencies have been
charged with challenging new responsibilities in the area of macroprudential supervision, with
the objective of promoting financial stability and reducing the likelihood and the costs of a
future financial crisis. Although much progress has been made, we are still at an early stage
in understanding how best to meet these new macroprudential responsibilities.
All of these developments have spurred a great deal of research within central banks, in
academia, and elsewhere. This outpouring of research will help shape future central bank
doctrine and policy approaches and, most importantly, should help central banks better carry
out their mission to promote the public welfare. The papers at this conference make a variety
of welcome contributions to this endeavor. Two contributions consider the implications of
recent events for the conduct of monetary policy, both conventional and unconventional.1
Another paper addresses the relationship between monetary aggregates and financial
stability.2 And several papers investigate issues in the field of regulation and macroprudential
supervision, including the design of an integrated framework for regulation, a proposal for
dealing with systemically important resolution issues in the repurchase agreement markets,
and a review of the progress to date in reengineering the financial system.3
The discussants' remarks, the general discussions, and the policy panel will surely be very
helpful in identifying fruitful directions for further research. I thank our guests for coming and
participating. I once again welcome you to Washington and wish you a stimulating and
productive conference.