tiff macklem : the path to price stability remarks by mr tiff macklem, governor of the bank of canada, at the canadian club toronto, toronto, ontario, 15 december 2023. * * * introduction good afternoon. it's a great pleasure to be back in toronto for my final speech of the year. i want to thank the canadian club toronto for the invitation and all of you for joining me today. i look forward to our discussion and to hearing from as many of you as possible. as the year ends, i can't help but reflect on the year that was and think about the year ahead. we've come a long way toward restoring price stability. this was our second year of monetary policy tightening, and that work is paying off. the economy is no longer overheated, and that is relieving inflationary pressures. inflation has come down from just over 8 % in the middle of last year to 3. 1 % in october. that's significant progress. but to many canadians, i know it doesn't feel great. we are in a tough phase of the monetary cycle. inflation has come down but it's still too high. and the increases in interest rates that are needed to relieve price pressures are squeezing many canadians. looking ahead, i expect 2024 to be a year of transition. the effects of past interest rate increases will continue to work through the economy, restraining spending and limiting growth and employment. unfortunately, this is what's needed to take the remaining steam out of inflation. but this period of weakness will pave the way to a more balanced economy. we expect growth and jobs to be picking up later next year, and inflation will be getting close to the 2 % target. and once governing council is assured that we are clearly on a path back to price stability, we will be considering whether and when we can lower our policy interest rate. i know it is tempting to rush ahead to that discussion. but it's still too early to consider cutting our policy rate. until we see evidence that we are clearly on a path back to 2 % inflation, i expect governing council will continue to debate whether monetary policy is restrictive enough and how long it needs to remain restrictive to restore price stability. in a world with increased macroeconomic volatility, we are also conscious that we may need to be nimble, and we should be humble about our forecasts. looking beyond next year, we also need to

jarle bergo : efficiency in the norwegian payment system speech by mr jarle bergo, deputy governor of norges bank ( central bank of norway ), at the conference on payment systems 2002, oslo, 14 november 2002. the text below may differ slightly from the actual presentation. * * * thank you for your invitation and for the opportunity to present norges bank ’ s views on developments in the payment system at this important conference where payment system experts are gathered. in particular, i will discuss issues related to efficiency in the norwegian payment system today. this is an area in which our political authorities have delegated a responsibility to norges bank. section 1 of the norges bank act from 1985 states that “ … norges bank shall promote an efficient payment system domestically as well as vis - a - vis other countries … ” 1. an efficient payment system • payments should be processed – fast – at reasonable cost – safely • these three features receive different emphasis in the retail payment system and the interbank payment system we have defined an efficient payment system as a system that settles payments quickly, safely and at reasonable cost. this definition applies to both interbank and retail payment systems. these three elements receive different emphasis depending on the type of payment involved. in connection with interbank systems, we place considerable emphasis on safety, because delays or failure of a payment settlement may lead to a liquidity shortage or loss in some banks. these problems may in turn spread to a number of banks and at worst threaten financial stability. retail payments consist of many transactions of limited size and retail settlement amounts are normally modest. normally, problems in the retail payment system will not pose a threat to financial stability. therefore, more emphasis can be placed on executing retail payments quickly and at reasonable cost. the purpose of the provisions in chapter 3 of the act relating to payment systems, etc. from 1999 is to contribute to ensuring that systems for payment services are organised and operated in a way that promotes safe and efficient payments and effective and coordinated execution of payment services. this responsibility has been delegated to the norwegian banking, insurance and securities commission. the norwegian banking, insurance and securities commission and norges bank cooperate closely on issues of relevance to the retail payment systems. in accordance with the requirements of the norges bank act, norges bank has focused on efficiency in the retail payment system as a whole. in most western countries, the payment system lays claim to between 1 and 3 per cent of gdp. more efficient structures can therefore result