All of us know that there is no greater enemy to financial stability than a loss of confidence – and nothing undermines confidence more than a lack of reliable information. Discipline imposed by markets might not be pleasant, but more, higher quality information – in a word, transparency – bolsters the confidence of depositors and other creditors and therefore makes doing business easier and more secure for everyone. Of course, progress on the disclosure front will be limited until accounting standards are enhanced to ensure proper valuation and to reflect innovations over the past decade, both in terms of new products and modern risk management techniques. Accounting systems serve a variety of purposes, but none more important than helping creditors and investors make rigorous and clear-eyed decisions as to which enterprises meet market tests of efficiency, competitiveness and profitability that are necessary to fulfill their obligations. Sound accounting systems also enable investors to determine the value of enterprises, and, in so doing, assist in attracting capital, both foreign and domestic. With these  5  BIS Review 75/2000  important purposes in mind, ongoing efforts to enhance accounting standards worldwide should continue and even intensify. There is also a need for greater harmonization of accounting standards across countries. We simply must get to a point where supervisors and market participants alike can analyze and compare all internationally active financial institutions on a consistent basis. And it will not be possible to have uniform capital standards until we have achieved some consistency in accounting standards across countries.

John C Williams: Monetary policy strategies for a low-neutralinterest-rate world Remarks by Mr John C Williams, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, at the 80th Plenary Meeting of the Group of Thirty, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, New York City, 30 November 2018. * * * As prepared for delivery I would like to start by thanking Tharman for the invitation to participate in this panel of esteemed current and former policymakers. I am also pleased to continue the long tradition of hosting the Group of Thirty at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and very much look forward to this morning’s discussion. In my remarks, I will focus on the following question: What long-run monetary policy strategy is best suited to anchor inflation expectations, foster price stability, and promote maximum employment? I emphasize the phrase “long-run” because I will focus on the features of a systematic policy framework, rather than tactical policy decisions. This topic is not only of academic interest: As was recently announced, the Federal Reserve is embarking on a review of its long-run monetary policy framework.1 I will argue that the global decline in the neutral rate of interest over the past quarter century poses significant challenges to maintaining wellanchored inflation expectations in a standard inflation-targeting regime. I will then lay out some alternative policy strategies that have the potential of providing a solid anchor for inflation expectations—even with a very low neutral interest rate—while preserving broad continuity with current inflation-targeting practice.