philip lowe : opening statement to the house of representatives standing committee on economics opening statement by mr philip lowe, governor of the reserve bank of australia, to the house of representatives standing committee on economics, canberra, 7 february 2020. * * * good morning chair and members of the committee. these hearings are a central part of the accountability process for the reserve bank of australia. as usual, my colleagues and i will do our best to answer your questions and to explain how we are discharging our important responsibilities on behalf of the australian community. later this morning we will be releasing a full set of updated forecasts in our quarterly statement on monetary policy. ahead of that i would like to highlight the main numbers and some of the factors that are influencing the outlook. i will then turn to monetary policy and finish with some remarks about the rba ’ s payments system responsibilities. when we met six months ago, i said that there were signs that the australian economy may have reached a gentle turning point. the data that we have received since then are consistent with this. our central forecast is that economic growth in australia will pick up from an average rate of 2 per cent over the past couple of years to 2¾ per cent this year and 3 per cent over 2021. this expected pick - up in growth is supported by accommodative monetary policy, a new expansion phase in the resources sector, stronger consumer spending and a recovery in dwelling investment later this year. high levels of spending on infrastructure and strong growth in public demand are also helping the economy. the outlook is also supported by an expected modest lift in global growth. the global economy has clearly suffered over the past year from the uncertainty and interruption to international trade caused by the us – china trade and technology disputes. more recently, though, there have been signs of stabilisation, especially in the manufacturing sector. consistent with this, in its latest public forecasts the international monetary fund has predicted global growth will be stronger this year and next than it was last year. notwithstanding this, there are still some significant areas of uncertainty. one of these is the possibility of a re - escalation of the us – china disputes. the ‘ phase one ’ deal has alleviated some of the earlier uncertainties, but it has not eliminated them. there are also a number of other trade disputes that are simmering elsewhere around the world. and more recently, the outbreak of the coronavirus represents a new source of uncertainty. it is too early to tell

26. 06. 2018 taking up of office by the governor of the banco de espana pablo hernandez de cos governor honourable ministers and authorities, ladies and gentlemen, dear colleagues and friends, i believe today calls, above all, for a round of gratitude. first, i wish to thank ministers calvino and montero for their presence here today. may they rest assured i am firmly committed to maintaining the close and loyal collaboration traditionally offered by the banco de espana to the ministries for the economy and finance. i also wish to thank the previous minister, roman escolano, for his presence at this ceremony, and for his proposal and defence of my appointment before the parliamentary committee for the economy and competitiveness. and my gratitude extends to the representatives of the committee accompanying us today. i undertake to make every effort to improve the capacity of the banco de espana to face the challenges addressed during the parliamentary committee hearing. ministers, as i am surrounded above all by colleagues, i trust you will allow me to continue in a more informal tone. as you know, including a three - year tour at the european central bank, i now have two decades behind me at the banco de espana. professionally speaking, this is, then, my home. it is a real honour for me to have been appointed governor. but, above all, i feel a great responsibility at having inherited the enormous legacy of an institution with the history, functions and position in the spanish economy of the banco de espana. i wish to begin this new stage thanking those people who have steered my career over the years. i have learnt from all of them and their teachings have been a source of wealth for me. my sincere thanks to all of them. thanks, of course, to jose luis malo de molina, under whose leadership of the research department i have pursued most of my career, and, among others, eloisa ortega and jose maria bonilla. they were most forthcoming with their trust and have, at different times, been a major source of guidance and support for me. thanks also to fernando restoy, above all for being a point of reference in terms of competence and dedication to public service. thanks especially to jose manuel gonzalez paramo, who oversaw my ph. d. and took me to frankfurt. that experience gave me, early on, a first - hand view of the work of the european central bank and of the banco espana ’ s potential as a member of the eurosystem. naturally, my greatest gratitude is