The magnitude of the crisis demanded prompt and decisive action, while its global dimension required coordination across national borders. Independence from national governments and the authority to act swiftly were critical in containing the deepening of the crisis Page 1 of 8  Central Bank of Chile July 2019  and its spillovers throughout the economy. Some of the largest independent central banks applied their powers to articulate unprecedented measures, like massive asset purchases, whose effects last until today. Independent central banking has not been an easy ride, though. One thing is to be free from external interference, quite another is to build the policy frameworks, governance structures and standards to guide actions in a consistent and predictable way. Independent central banks have endorsed and benefitted the most from inflation targeting, have led the improvement in communications into forward guidance, have built reporting mechanisms, and have developed transparency and integrity standards beyond statutory requirements. While policy frameworks, monitoring mechanisms and policy tools could rely on sound theoretical work and accumulated experience for monetary policy over the years, issues are not so well resolved with financial stability. This is not easy to measure, financial instability may come from many sources, and there is still and open debate on who –central banks or government regulators-- should command macro prudential policies. This is related to the potential tradeoffs between monetary policy and financial stability that were intensely debated in this venue two years ago.

Reliability of an institution depends and can be assessed on the basis of the clarity of its mandates and specific goals; the quality of its organization, planning and decision-making process, and its operational efficiency, including its capacity to command the appropriate financial, technical and professional resources. Adaptability refers to the capacity to recognize changes in the environment, either economic, social, technological or institutional, and to adapt to them without compromising its commitments to the public. Long-term planning, research, market intelligence and risk management are important mechanisms in this regard. To be adaptable while remaining reliable, an institution should be able not only to identify changes, new trends and risks, but also to explain them to the public, including the adjustments that may be required from them. Integrity means putting the general interest entrusted to the institution above the particular interests of its authorities, employees or other narrow groups. This means far more than strict regulations and effective control; it may require benchmarks, ethics, checks and balances and openness to scrutiny that can respond to changes in social standards of accepted behavior, which may move faster than legislation. The latter entails with accessibility, which refers to the ability of an institution to understand people’s needs, leverage a wide pool of information and achieve higher levels of compliance. To be accessible, an institution should develop active and passive transparency mechanisms, seek feedback from the public and to foster dialogue and consultation with stakeholders. Lastly, fairness acknowledges differences across society and that institutional actions may be far from neutral.