alone. obituary the coronavirus has sadly left a trail of economic, social and human devastation in its wake. each of us no doubt knows someone who has been struck down by it. i ’ d like to take this opportunity to remember the well - known czech economist michal mejstrik, who tragically lost his life to covid - 19 earlier this year. we always rightly admired michal for his broad range of expertise, his intellectual curiosity and energy, and his ability to present interesting information and formulate fresh ideas. i ’ m sure that at this time, and perhaps even at this conference, his voice would have been heard and he ’ d have been offering us imaginative insights into the coronavirus crisis. michal, we miss you. ladies and gentlemen, thank you for listening. i hope you find the conference interesting and inspiring. 7 / 7 bis central bankers'speeches

, a principle which ensures maximum monetary policy effectiveness. it ’ s hard to imagine central bankers deciding whether bonds issued by a nuclear power station are green or not. and finally, in pursuing such remits, central bankers would again be entering the political arena, where there are many potential political traps that could undermine their independence and decision - making in the areas that need to stay of primary, if not exclusive, importance to them. this is a topic that would certainly warrant a separate presentation. i have tried to show at least briefly that central bank independence may not be as cast in stone as it seemed before the global financial crisis. the new remits that central banks are starting to take on likewise indicate that opinions are changing. after the gfc, the former exclusive focus on price stability was widened to encompass financial stability. and new goals – or at least items – are gradually being added to the contemporary remits of central banks. all this shows that, beneath its seemingly placid surface, the world of central banks is a very lively, dynamically developing and extremely interesting place. what is interesting czech central bankers at the moment? as i said at the start, in the second part of my address i will talk about our main macroeconomic and monetary policy considerations during the coronavirus crisis. from a purely technical perspective, this crisis has been fascinating and inspiring. it also took us completely by surprise. its main feature is that it was a typical exogenous shock : it hit the economy from the “ outside ”. 5 / 7 bis central bankers'speeches the gfc was caused by endogenous economic processes linked with huge levels of subprime lending, widening imbalances and unprecedentedly high risks building up in the financial sector, whereas the coronavirus pandemic is more like the plagues of egypt. it has often been said that this crisis has drawn a sharp dividing line between the sectors and industries which have profited unexpectedly and sometimes even wildly from it, and those which have been hit extremely hard or even wiped out by it. unlike typical cyclical crises, which tend to have a synchronised effect on most industries, this crisis is characterised by contrasting impacts. this feature has manifested itself in relatively smooth flows of employees between industries, so structural unemployment has stayed quite low. i should add, though, that strongly expansionary fiscal policy has been a major mitigating factor. at the price of sharply rising public debt, fiscal expansion has made it easier