jobs will continue to evolve. we may not readily recall the days when there was little job flexibility and we did not have today ’ s technology to assist us in our work. while technological transformation allows for further growth in productivity and innovation, we must also think through how these changes affect the workforce overall. we must realign our workforce development strategies with these changes. today, we will also focus on what this evolution means for low - and moderate - income households. one session will explore on - the - ground community development and labor models, with a focus on the implications for low - and moderate - income earners. this will be an important discussion on how to help workers build the skills necessary to adapt to change — a conversation that should ultimately include workers, their employers, their communities and the public sector, working together. we all need to share in the responsibility of helping people increase and maintain the skills relevant to contributing valued work. again, i wish you a fruitful dialogue, and i commend you for coming together to discuss such important issues and the trends affecting the u. s. workforce. bis central bankers'speeches

the banking system has more capital and, thus, a better ability to withstand stressful events when they arise. at the same time, our supervisory focus on capital planning and management across firms has led to greater focus and attention on the internal processes that firms use to manage their capital, including the prudent distribution of capital to shareholders, whether through dividends or share buybacks. in the area of liquidity, again, new rules and regulations have raised both the absolute level of liquidity in firms and the quality of liquid assets ( that is, assets that are readily accessible ). this provides for a much stronger ability to manage through stress conditions. as many firms learned in the depths of the crisis, what was once thought to be a liquid asset quickly became illiquid as markets seized up and normal outlets for converting assets to cash evaporated. further, our enhanced focus today on liquidity management across the range of bis central bankers ’ speeches firms we supervise has led to heightened management – and board of directors – attention to liquidity levels, liquidity risk management and liquidity stress testing. in addition, global supervisors have finalized rules – or are in the process of finalizing rules – in the areas of both capital and liquidity, including additional and more stringent rules for the largest, most systemically important firms. for these firms, additional buffers will be required, as will stronger risk management practices. 2. in addition to becoming more resilient, firms have made some progress in becoming less complex – although the progress is somewhat less measurable and less dramatic to date. firms have begun to take a hard look at their legal entity structures, including having identified and mapped material legal entities. this was a necessary first step for a lot of firms, which have begun the difficult task of making sense of their legal entity structures. this will be a focus of our future supervisory work on firms ’ preparedness for recovery and resolution planning. another positive step was recently made in the area of financial contracts – wherein 18 global firms recently agreed to sign a new isda resolution stay protocol. the protocol will provide for a stay of certain early termination rights triggered by resolution proceedings. the stay is intended to give jurisdictions time to orchestrate an orderly resolution of a troubled institution. it will be important that firms adhere to the protocol and amend isda master agreements consistent with the terms of the protocol. firms should carry out a similar effort with respect to other types of financial contracts not covered through the protocol.