, mortgage rates shifted into a lower range in the late 1990s. in part, this reflected a global trend toward lower inflation and interest rates. but it also reflected the fact that the bank of canada had built some credibility around its inflation - targeting policy, which began in 1991. canadians had come to expect that inflation would remain low, and interest rates moved lower accordingly. this is when our long - term rise in household debt took root. the situation took another dramatic turn in the wake of the global financial crisis in 2008. central banks slashed interest rates, in some cases to zero and beyond, and kept them at historically low levels for an extended period. internationally coordinated fiscal and monetary actions from 2008 to 2010 provided stimulus and helped the world avoid a second great depression. but our economy has struggled to gain traction in the last 10 years, not least because our recovery was interrupted by the collapse in oil prices in late 2014. today, inflation is on target and the economy is operating very close to potential. however, given the lingering effects of the shocks we have faced, the economy still requires stimulus. let me make a very basic and important point here. policy stimulus has a cost, whatever form it takes. whether delivered by monetary or fiscal policies, stimulus encourages growth by bringing forward household spending and business investment, financed with debt. i spoke about these debt dynamics in the purvis lecture two years ago. if fiscal policy takes the lead in stimulating the economy, this can result in a buildup of government debt. if monetary policy takes the lead, this brings about a buildup in household debt. in both cases, stimulus leads to a buildup of debt over time, whether public or private. and excessive debt levels create a vulnerability, making the economy less resilient to future shocks. this is why policy - makers need to consider the debt consequences of the mix of fiscal and monetary policy. 2 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches the burden of debt ultimately, what matters most is the burden of servicing debt relative to income. in other words, the lower the interest rate, the more debt a given household can afford to carry. for this analysis, we look at the debt - service ratio, which is the required payments of interest and principal expressed as a percentage of income. remarkably, the aggregate debt - service ratio on mortgages for canadian households has been very stable, remaining within a range of 5 to 7 per cent since the early 1990s. what this means is that canadians have taken advantage of lower

eddie yue : hong kong's treasury markets a€ “ the vibe is back keynote speech by mr eddie yue, chief executive of the hong kong monetary authority, at the treasury markets summit 2023, hong kong, 4 september 2023. * * * distinguished guests, members, and friends of the treasury markets association ( tma ), ladies and gentlemen. opening it is an honour and a pleasure to be here today at the treasury markets summit. i still remember the excited anticipation of the treasury markets summit last year - it was one of the first big in - person financial industry events in hong kong after three years of covid. since then, international and cross - border travel has resumed, tourists are returning and many large - scale events have come back to hong kong. we have been taking every chance to reconnect with our existing business friends in the mainland and overseas, and promote our financial services and opportunities to new friends. i know that many of you have also been putting a lot of effort into further developing our treasury markets with much success. but this is no time for complacency. there is a chinese saying that " if you stop moving forward, you fall back " ( ). so in my remarks today, i would like to highlight some key developments in the past year, and also some exciting new initiatives that we are undertaking. hong kong's financial markets remained resilient despite challenges as you all know, the past year was challenging for both the local and global financial markets. first, the us has tightened monetary policy at the fastest pace in recent history, raising the interest rate by a total of 525 basis points since march last year. for comparison, in the last cycle, the policy rate rose just 225 basis points over three years between 2015 and 2018. this aggressive tightening has caused a lot of challenges for the investment environment across different asset classes. added to this, the problems at us and swiss banks earlier this year came as a further shock to market confidence. and currently, signs of distress in the mainland's property sector and concerns about its macro outlook are also weighing on market sentiment. that being said, the mainland authorities have announced a number of measures to support the property market and the economy, and i am confident that things will get better over time. but despite all these challenges, hong kong's monetary and banking systems, supported by our banks and other treasury market professionals, have withstood these challenges and continue to remain sound and resilient