martin redrado : dynamism and soundness in the face of the crisis article by mr martin redrado, governor of the central bank of argentina, published in el chronista, 8 may 2009. * * * the decades of macroeconomic instability and recurrent crises that we have faced in argentina were not harmless in terms of welfare. although latin american countries have shown lower economic growth rates and higher macroeconomic volatility than other regions, the case of our country is on a different scale. if we consider the past 30 years, the average growth in latin america was less than half of asia ’ s, with volatility that nearly doubled asian levels. in that period of time, argentina ’ s growth was three times lower than in emerging asia, while volatility turned out to be eight times higher. this process triggered enormous economic and social losses, hindering on our chances to develop and leading to changes in our citizens ’ behavior. indeed, the consequences of this process include portfolio dollarization ; fiscal, financial or external dominance ; obstacles to develop a long - term credit market ; and the marked negative correlation between changes in retail deposits and foreign exchange fluctuations. these factors, which undermined the power of some traditional monetary policy instruments, have played a key role in the design of our monetary - financial system. in these cases, it is essential to ensure systemic stability and build “ buffers ”, which give priority to avoiding " the next crisis " and minimize the effects of disruptions. in particular, our risk management strategy based on four pillars ( permanent equilibrium in the monetary market, managed floating exchange rate regime, maintenance of external liquidity buffers, appropriate financial regulation and supervision ) is fully compatible with these aims as well as with the tools available. this scheme, which was carefully developed along recent years, now allows us to overcome each volatility episode in the new international context, minimizing the impact on the real economy and avoiding inconsistencies that might make it unsustainable over time. this has not occurred by chance. it was the consequence of the central bank ’ s deliberate strategy, which has prepared us to deal with the new scenario in the best possible way. one of the main structural reforms in our system has been, for example, the design of a specific regulatory framework preventing currency mismatches, reducing the exposure to the public sector, and maintaining prudence when introducing financial innovations. in addition, we accumulated international reserves during the “

mercedes marco del pont : the certainties and uncertainties in the world economy speech by ms mercedes marco del pont, governor of the central bank of argentina, at the money and banking conference 2010, central bank of argentina, buenos aires, 2 september 2010. * * * this 2010 conference is very special to all argentineans because this year is our country ’ s bicentennial and the 75th anniversary of the central bank. we are celebrating this money conference in the framework of a world economy with abundant uncertainties. during the early morning session, the possibility of developed countries entering a final, sustainable and balanced growth phase was discussed. there is also uncertainty as to what is going to happen to the weakest european economies that are implementing the fiscal consolidation and adjustment programs imposed on them to settle their debt issues, which most of us think will probably stress europe ’ s current structural issues. there is also uncertainty in the international financial regulation arena and its new engineering. after the onset of the crisis when rock bottom was hit, there were some signs of a possible exit to the crisis with the emergence of positive indicators in a number of developed economies ; now the most critical positions concerning a substantial reform of the international financial architecture are starting to fade away. the idea of making changes so that everything at the structural level remains the same seems to be consolidating. there are many more uncertainties that could be discussed, but i would rather speak to you today about some certainties we have in developing countries, especially in argentina. we have one clear certainty : for the first time in our short - and long - term history, countries in the region, in general, and argentina, in particular, are going through this global crisis – one of most severe since the great depression – with very low economic and social costs, without having faced a cyclical and structural external sector crisis or been immersed in recession crises leading to job and wealth destruction. in fact, it was quite the opposite : as we faced this crisis, activity levels were preserved, macroeconomic imbalances, avoided and, at the same time, income levels were intended to be distributed, both in argentina and in many countries in the region. this is not by chance. it is the result of our countries ’ consistent economic models, which gave up old conventional theories that furthered our nations ’ underdevelopment, and drove attention back to domestic market growth supported by wage corrections and redistribution policies, where public investment acts as a source of wealth and social inclusion