official launch of the financial stability council and signing of the memorandum of understanding opening remarks by moses d pelaelo governor, bank of botswana february 26, 2019 good morning and welcome to the signing ceremony for launch of the financial stability council. ladies and gentlemen, as i look back, the launch is the culmination of several significant steps and consultations. among these are : first, the initial assessment by the bank of the need and prospective role of a financial stability council, articulated in the monetary policy statement ; second, consultations by officials within the auspices of the bank of botswana / ministry of finance and economic development working group, and also involving the non - bank financial institutions regulatory authority and the financial intelligence agency ; third, approval for honourable establishment of the council minister finance and of by the economic development obtained in april 2018 ; and fourth an inaugural meeting to consider an outline of the macroprudential policy framework and review of the draft memorandum of understanding in september 2018. the financial stability council comprises the leadership of the ministry of finance and economic development ( mfed ), the bank of botswana ( the bank ), non - bank financial institutions regulatory authority ( nbfira ), and financial intelligence agency ( fia ), institutions that are involved in developing legislation and regulations, policymaking and supervision with respect to the whole or facets of the financial sector. it is acknowledged that the respective institutions have unique statutory mandates, objectives, oversight frameworks and operational spheres, albeit mostly related. in this regard, the financial stability council is not established to usurp or dilute the role of the respective institutions, which is neither feasible nor desirable. rather it is to share information and where, desirable, facilitate collective and coordinated approach to financial sector monitoring resolution. frameworks and crisis ladies and gentlemen, to reiterate, as indicated in the 2018 monetary policy statement, coordinated oversight is necessary because while the relevant institutions are distinctly and individually supervised at a micro level, the financial system encompasses interconnected relationships and activities and is subject to common and transferable risks. therefore, the council is designed to foster collaboration and coordination in the four areas of : sharing of data and information for purposes of monitoring and risk assessment ; overseeing and guiding macro - prudential policy framework and implementation ; regular briefings, consultations and policy review with respect to relevant developments ; and structured and coordinated response to any financial system imbalances and resolution as may be necessary. todaya€™s signing of the memorandum of understanding by the

the most prominent examples of for example, the survey of consumer finances ( scf ) data show that the average wealth of individuals in low - and moderate - income areas declined on a percentage basis more than that in higher - income areas ( 21 percent versus 17 percent ). see the 2007 - 09 scf panel data. raven molloy ( 2013 ), “ long - term vacant housing units : an aggregate view, ” speech delivered at “ renters, homeowners, and investors : the changing profile of communities, ” a conference sponsored by board of governors of the federal reserve system and federal reserve banks of philadelphia and cleveland, washington, february 26. alan berube ( 2012 ), “ the continuing evolution of american poverty and its implications for community development ( pdf ), ” in federal reserve bank of san francisco and low income investment fund, investing in what works for america ’ s communities : essays on people, place, and purpose ( san francisco : frbsf and liif ), pp. 55 – 71. bis central bankers ’ speeches well - meaning but misguided efforts to revitalize decaying inner - city neighborhoods. in practice, these policies often devastated neighborhood cohesion, leading their critics to argue for local, bottom - up solutions. perhaps the most influential critique of urban renewal and top - down planning was jane jacobs ’ s 1961 book, death and life of great american cities. 4 in that book she celebrated the complexity and organic development of city neighborhoods in which intricate social networks enhance safety, quality of life, and economic opportunity. in jacobs ’ s view, a police force was not as effective at maintaining order as a neighborhood filled with “ public actors ” such as storekeepers, doormen, and interested neighbors acting as street watchers at all hours. the development of this sort of community self - monitoring is most likely to emerge, she argued, in neighborhoods with a rich mixture of activities taking place in buildings of varying age, character, and use. for the most part, social science research has vindicated jacobs ’ s perspective. for example, sociologists studying community resilience in the wake of natural disasters mapped deaths caused by an extreme heat wave in chicago in 1995. 5 they found, not surprisingly, that death rates were higher in poor areas where air conditioners were scarce. but they also noticed a remarkable difference in the fatality rate in two adjacent neighborhoods – englewood and auburn grisham – on chicago ’ s south side. these neighborhoods