joseph yam : central bank authority, accountability, transparency and effectiveness closing remarks by mr joseph yam, chief executive of the hong kong monetary authority, at the bis meeting of the central bank governance network, hong kong, 18 - 19 november 2004. * * * braver people than myself have, earlier this morning, attempted to distil the multiple discussions that have taken place over the last day and a half. and they have all had the advantage of actually having attended the discussions. i shall not attempt to imitate them - though i should add that i have been keeping myself closely informed of your deliberations through the enjoyable discussions i have had with many of you in the margins. by all accounts, this has been an extremely fruitful meeting. let me instead try to capture some of the themes and preoccupations which have figured prominently in discussions about central bank governance, and which will, i have no doubt, provide the impetus for further discussions within this network. these discussions tend to revolve around four interlocking and overlapping areas of concern : 1. the sources of authority for central banks ; 2. the process of accountability within central banks, and, beyond them, to the larger body politic ; 3. the role and challenges of transparency ; and 4. the methods for achieving effectiveness in our operations through proper organisation and planning. the issue of authority for central banks begins, in all cases, with the law, and includes the obvious questions of what kind of law is suitable for a particular central bank ; how you change a law that is no longer suitable ; and what is the optimal timing and strategy for changing the law. but, as your discussions have stressed, there is more to this than the mere word of the law. an interesting aspect of the sharing of experience here has been the extent to which central banks have worked with - and sometimes around - laws that have become inadequate to the needs of modern central banking. as i mentioned in my opening remarks, in the case of the hkma it has been a question of working without the law, since hong kong has no formal central bank law, and we rely on just a few lines of a single statute for our authority. a further point that has been made strongly is the need to base the legitimacy, the credibility of a central bank on something more than just statutes and regulations. this brings into play the question of accountability, through both formal and informal channels. i know that a great deal of your discussion has

eddie yue : remarks at media standup remarks by mr eddie yue, chief executive of the hong kong monetary authority, at media standup, hong kong, 2 october 2019. * * * ladies and gentlemen, 1. today is my first working day as the chief executive of the hkma. apart from the transition to a new position, i will also be faced with a challenging external and domestic environment. this includes the weakening of global economic momentum, uncertainties over the chinaus trade conflict and brexit, unpredictable monetary policy stance across central banks especially in the us, and the social events in hong kong in recent months. all these have presented huge challenges and uncertainties for the hong kong economy. 2. our key priority in the next few years is to maintain hong kong ’ s monetary and financial stability. 3. and, the foundation for this stability is the linked exchange rate system ( “ the link ” ), which has helped hong kong weather different financial storms since 1983. i ’ ve been involved in the operation of the link throughout my career in the hkma and i have also gone through two financial crises. i firmly believe that the link is the most appropriate monetary system for hong kong. we see no need and have no intention of changing this well - established system. 4. our banking system is also robust and sound. i ’ m confident that hong kong ’ s financial system is well positioned to cope with market volatilities. 5. we will also reinforce hong kong ’ s role as a premier international financial centre. one key driver is the rapid development of fintech. while the hkma has done a great deal in the past few years in promoting fintech, there is still room to further apply new technology in finance in the coming years. this includes, for example, fostering a better ecosystem for regulatory technology ( or regtech ) and supervisory technology ( or suptech ). we are also aware that any new risks associated with the increasing use of technology have to be managed. these include for example cyber and data security. we will work with the industry to address these risks. 6. we are also committed to promoting market development opportunities, especially in strengthening the role of hong kong as the gateway to the mainland ’ s capital markets, in the greater bay area development, and also in green finance. 7. these are rough times. but my colleagues and i will continue to discharge our duties in a professional manner and do our best to serve the people of hong