. a particular cruelty of the pandemic has been its disproportionate effects on many areas that were already suffering. we will make our way back from this, but it will take time and work. some of the most valuable information we get from these discussions is how people are working to create growth. your feedback can be an invaluable example for other communities with similar challenges. the lordstown closure served as a reminder of how interconnected local economies can be, and other areas have experienced similar losses. your work on diversifying the economy, on skills development, on small business support programs, and in so many other areas can all serve as models for others to replicate. the path ahead is likely to be challenging. but given the opportunity, i ’ ll always bet on the american people and on the kind of community resolve and dedication we ’ re hearing about today. i ’ m looking forward to your insight and to hearing more about how you ’ ve been working to revitalize youngstown ’ s economy. thank you. 1 / 1 bis central bankers'speeches

and contingency arrangements for our key payment system operations. most recently, the federal reserve board endorsed the creation of a dormant bank, referred to as newbank, which would be available for activation to clear and settle u. s. government securities. such activation would occur if a credit or legal problem caused the market to lose confidence in an existing clearing bank and no well - qualified bank stepped forward to purchase that bank's clearing business. similarly, the federal reserve system, operating through the federal reserve bank of new york, has met with major dealers to improve the practices of the credit derivatives industry in various ways, including implementing procedures to improve the settlement process for credit default swaps, establishing targets for the reduction of confirmation backlogs, and insisting that dealers obtain the consent of the original counterparty before accepting an assignment of a contract. the final role i would suggest for a central bank is to research the implications of longer - term financial trends for the economy more generally. as i mentioned above, the consolidation of financial services, increasing market intermediation of credit, the greater complexity of financial instruments, and increasing globalization of financial institutions and markets all might raise concerns about our financial system. although my assessment, and that of many other observers, is that these forces and developments support financial stability, they merit ongoing study. in a more proactive vein, once the central bank identifies a longer - run concern, it can try to raise the awareness of other policymakers regarding the potential problems. recently, for example, the government - sponsored enterprises, which lack the normal market discipline to check the growth of their portfolios, have been a concern that the federal reserve board has been highlighting before the congress. as another example of being proactive, i would suggest that the efforts to increase the transparency of central bank actions that i discussed at the beginning of my talk have, in some part, been motivated by a desire to enhance financial stability. 3 one lesson that stands out from our experience gained during the past decade is that only looking backward is not useful. prudent central bankers must be forward - looking, searching for developments that might become significant problems under some circumstances. what would be useful from a riskmanagement perspective is more information along the lines of what we have for inflation - - market instruments that allow us to measure, to some extent, market participants'expectations. the absence of such direct measures of financial stability, however, suggests that we should continue to present our views of potential financial risks and