advanced information technology, money market tender operations, for example, can be conducted on a decentralized basis at reasonable expense. at the same time, the benefits of a decentralized approach are quite obvious. it will permit the use of the ncbs ’ infrastructure and the benefit of their experience in conducting monetary policy and other operations. watching their national financial markets evolve, the national central banks have accumulated a wealth of experience over the decades. at the early stage of monetary union, these markets will still differ substantially. in order to guarantee nevertheless equal and fair access to central bank liquidity for the large number of the escb ’ s counterparties, the national central banks will assume an indispensable function as intermediaries between the ecb ’ s monetary policy decisions and the counterparties of the escb. the national central banks will also be best placed to monitor, on a continuous basis, the rapid and substantial changes in the conduct of market players triggered by monetary union itself. this will ensure that the escb ’ s monetary policy instruments retain their effectiveness and efficiency even in a rapidly changing environment. the national central banks will therefore conduct open market transactions and other monetary policy operations with the banks in accordance with instructions issued by the ecb. upon decision of the ecb, they will intervene on the foreign exchange markets. they will print and issue banknotes. the commercial banks will maintain their minimum reserves with the national central banks if such reserves are going to be an instrument of monetary policy – which i would indeed advocate. the national central banks will supervise payment transactions, acting as system operators in large - volume payments. they will collect statistical data, and they will continue to cooperate in monetary policy - making on an international level, as in the imf and the bis. let me mention just two examples to illustrate the national central banks ’ important function in operative business : first, let us consider their role in monetary policy operations within the escb. as a rule, decisions with regard to instruments used to allocate or withdraw liquidity on the initiative of the escb will be taken centrally by the ecb. however, their implementation and administration - carried out in line with the ecb ’ s instructions - will largely be the responsibility of the national central banks. open market operations will for the most part remain the exclusive task of the national central banks. these include regular weekly tender operations with a term of two weeks, regular monthly longer - term refinancing operations with a term of

mark carney : putting the right ideas into practice speech by mr mark carney, governor of the bank of england and chairman of the financial stability board, at the institute and faculty of actuaries general insurance conference, wales, 25 september 2014. * * * introduction it is an honour to be invited to address you today. insurance is at the core of the new bank of england. as regulator, we are tasked with ensuring the safety and soundness of the uk ’ s insurance companies and the protection of their policyholders. to discharge these responsibilities, we draw on the entire resources of the bank. fully one third of our regulatory staff – over 200 supervisors and 50 actuaries – are engaged in supervising insurance companies. but that is just the start. our supervisors are supported by hundreds of credit risk analysts, scores of monetary policy experts and macro - financial analysts. as a central bank with responsibilities for both monetary and financial stability, we have a view of both the asset and liability sides of your balance sheets. and as a highly active participant in global financial reform, we influence the measures that are reshaping the global system. in all of our actions, we recognise the importance of insurance to the economy. the uk insurance industry makes a major, direct contribution : £25bn to annual gdp and 300, 000 high - paying jobs including many of the 14, 000 members of the institute & faculty of actuaries. it is a major exporter with about 30 % of premiums earned overseas. and the lloyd ’ s market underlines london ’ s status as a world centre for insurance excellence and innovation. but the economic contribution of insurance goes much deeper. by spreading and managing risks, it increases the resilience of corporations, investors and financial institutions. it makes entrepreneurship and trade more viable. and it safeguards companies and individuals from perils they could not otherwise shoulder. from a financial system perspective, insurance companies play a vital role in the efficient allocation of capital. by matching long - term savings and investment, it finances the infrastructure essential to build our economy. the long - term perspective of insurance companies diversifies the financial system and reinforces its resilience. the contribution of the uk insurance industry can ’ t be taken for granted – especially in a macro - financial environment that challenges traditional business models. challenges from the macro - financial environment of course, relative to the recent past, the economic outlook is much improved. the uk has experienced the strongest growth in the g7 over the past year