evidence of the slow healing story. having grown at rates below pre - crisis norms for the post - crisis period, the world saw an increase in growth rates from around the middle of 2016. that return to stronger growth was broad - based both in that it was true for the whole of the g7 – excluding the uk – and emerging markets in aggregate and that it was driven by a pick - up in investment not just consumption. at the same time, in the us, partly in response to very low levels of unemployment, pay and inflation have risen from subdued 1 - 2 % to rates closer to 2 - 3 % over 2015 to 2018. so is there still a case for any ‘ stodginess ’ in the approach to monetary policy in the uk? headline cpi inflation is running at 2. 4 % above its 2 % target. the overshoot, however, is entirely due to imported inflationary pressure. this has come primarily from the post referendum depreciation in sterling plus some more recent pressure from the increase in oil prices. the inflationary pressure from sterling ’ s depreciation is already passed its peak. in may the mpc forecast that cpi would be at 2. 2 % by the year end. the mpc ’ s remit is to keep inflation at target ‘ at all times ’. the objective therefore is not solely to bring down inflation that is currently above target due to external pressures that are waning, but to ensure that inflation is neither above nor below target when those pressures have passed through of the economy. uk gdp surpassed its 2018 q1 peak in 2013 q2. in the us, productivity growth initially appeared to be bouncing back after the crisis but from 2011 fell and failed to pick back up to precrisis growth rates. cunliffe all speeches are available online at www. bankofengland. co. uk / speeches the key question, therefore, is how much inflation is domestic economic pressures likely to generate over the next couple of years. let me turn to that now. we do not yet have all the evidence. but the significant drop in activity in the uk in the first quarter of this year looks to have been largely an aberration, driven by poor weather. retail sales – which declined in the first quarter of the year – have bounced back. gdp in the three months to may – the ons ’ s first of its new monthly gdp releases – grew at 0. 2 %, with services growing at 0.

jeremy c stein : crowdfunding for community development finance welcoming remarks by mr jeremy c stein, member of the board of governors of the federal reserve system, at the crowdfunding for community development finance conference, washington dc, 24 march 2014. * * * good morning. let me start by welcoming everyone to the federal reserve. today ’ s topic of crowdfunding for community development finance is an important and topical one, and i want to thank you all for helping us think through the challenges and opportunities presented by this new technology as it relates to raising funds for local communities. this gathering is particularly timely for two reasons. first, in many communities, traditional resources for community development are shrinking, and the field is actively seeking to identify new sources of funding. second, the securities and exchange commission recently released its proposed rule under the jumpstart our business startups – or jobs – act, which is likely to influence the environment for crowdfunding in general and for community development finance specifically. to the extent that most people know about crowdfunding at all, they may associate it with tech startups or independent movie production, since the press coverage has often focused on examples in these areas. these stories typically describe the use, and often success, of crowdfunding, as aspiring inventors and artists are able to tap the internet to raise the money that can help make their visions a reality. the question for today is whether this power of the crowd can be harnessed to support community development, a field that has not widely benefitted from crowdfunding thus far. indeed, when i say “ power of the crowd, ” it is worth noting that while individual investment amounts may be small, the total amount of funds raised from this source can be large. although we lack reliable data on the current size of crowdfunding, some sources indicate that it ’ s a multibillion - dollar industry, with more than 1 million separate offerings each year, and that the field is growing rapidly. 1 while crowdfunding may not be as well known in the community development context, there are, in fact, existing models of crowdfunding for community development that we can learn from. i understand that several of these existing models will be discussed on a panel later this morning. one local example is fundrise, an investment platform for commercial real estate that gives individuals the opportunity to invest directly in neighborhood businesses. fundrise started on the h street corridor here in d. c., and has completed