Monetary Policy Announcements in 2018 1  16 February, Friday  2  4 April, Wednesday  3  11 May, Friday  4  29 June, Friday  5  3 August, Friday  6  28 September, Friday  7  14 November, Wednesday  8  28 December, Friday  13  The Central Bank cannot implement a successful FIT framework alone. As we have emphasised in the past, the continued and strong commitment of the government will be of paramount importance. It is encouraging that the government has already recognised the Central Bank’s move towards FIT as the future framework for monetary policy, in its policy document “Vision 2025- A Country Enriched”. Continued strong commitment of the government towards greater fiscal discipline and stronger fiscal outcomes remain key to the successful adoption of FIT. In particular, the government is expected to maintain its commitment to medium-term fiscal consolidation, which is embedded in the IMF-EFF arrangement. The improved fiscal space through continued fiscal consolidation will create a better enabling environment for the effective and independent conduct of monetary policy. This whole effort requires the government’s commitment to remain on the trajectory of fiscal consolidation it has enunciated in its medium-term budgetary framework. The new Inland Revenue Act, enacted with the aim of simplifying and rationalising the existing income tax structure; the VAT reforms; and the improvements in tax administration are worthy achievements. Further, the government expects to strengthen fiscal consolidation by revising the Fiscal Management (Responsibility) Act to include binding fiscal targets.

The late New York intellectual Irving Kristol is reported to have said: “Don’t fall for fantastical notions that have nothing to do with the way people really are.”4 My experience of having worked in real time in the financial markets leads me to a different perspective on financial operators and markets than that of most of my colleagues  1  See www.number10.gov.uk/history-and-tour/prime-ministers-in-history/margaret-thatcher. 2  See “Were 364 Economists All Wrong?” Institute of Economic Affairs, www.iea.org.uk/sites/default/files/publications/files/upldbook310pdf.pdf. 3  See “Were 364 Economists All Wrong?” BBC Newsnight report by Stephanie Flanders, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/4803858.stm. 4  See “Three Cheers for Irving,” by David Brooks, New York Times, Sept. 22, 2009. BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  at the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). This not only affects my views on the implementation of monetary policy, but also shapes my perspective on regulation. Monetary policy and regulation are intricately linked. When conducting its monetary policy, the Fed is governed by a dual mandate: creating the monetary conditions to foster maximum employment growth while constraining inflation and its alter ego, deflation. These goals cannot be realized without financial stability that results from effective regulation. As the FOMC now sets its sights on concluding the accommodative monetary policy it fashioned to stave off financial collapse and deflation, our supervision and regulation team is wrestling with developing the appropriate policy for dealing with the lingering effects of the financial crisis, and, most importantly, erecting a new regulatory framework to substantially reduce the chances of financial crises.