gabriel makhlouf : lessons from covid – a macroprudential framework for the market - based finance sector opening remarks by mr gabriel makhlouf, governor of the central bank of ireland, at the bank of france financial stability conference 2021 roundtable, 1 march 2021. * * * let me start by thanking the banque de france for the invitation to join today ’ s conference and contribute to your financial stability review. i support governor villeroy de galhau ’ s three areas for action that he has set out in his review article. i am in favour of strong and effective resilience frameworks that operate in individual countries, in the eu and across the globe. of course, as with so many things, we will need to consider carefully any proposals for reform to ensure they do not have any unintended consequences. for example, it may be too soon at this point to draw definitive conclusions from our experience with the pandemic. but i do think there are some clear lessons that we can already take from the past year. let us start by remembering that macroprudential frameworks are very new. arguably, they were still in their adolescence or teenage years when the shock from the pandemic hit. but benefits are now being already seen. why do i say this? our approach has been to build resilience over the last number of years, when times were good so that we could use it when we needed it. the pandemic is not over but, on the evidence so far, and despite the effects of the shock on our communities and busineses, the core of the financial system has remained resilient, both financially and operationally. we faced an unprecedented economic crisis but we did not see the banking system amplify the economic disruption. 1 so the first lesson is we must now focus on taking these frameworks from adolescence to maturity. another key lesson is the need to develop and operationalise a macroprudential framework for market - based finance. this would be beneficial for the stability of the financial system as a whole, and not just market - based finance. today ’ s financial system is now significantly different than before the financial crisis a decade ago. the banking system has seen a gradual decline in its share of total financial intermediation, a change accompanied by a corresponding increase in parts of the non - bank financial system. and in particular by market - based finance. for the avoidance of doubt, market

, but lag in others. in my own profession, there has been a gradual increase in the share of women in economics, but women still remain underrepresented at the highest levels in academia, in government and in business. there are doubtless numerous reasons for this, and in fact economists themselves are among those engaged in trying to understand the factors that explain why more women aren ’ t rising to higher levels. i hope we continue to seek this understanding, in my field and others where women are in the minority, because the benefits of greater participation for women, it seems to me, are clear and substantial. as we continue to make progress in recovering from the great recession, our country is going to need the best efforts, ideas and talent it can muster to succeed in an increasingly competitive global economy. if women ’ s history can shape the future, i hope that it inspires america to take those steps we can take to draw forth these contributions from all americans. bis central bankers ’ speeches