slide — noting that mistakes “ may arise even in the best regulated families ” — and the account agreement was executed on may 3, 1917 and operationalized on june 20, 1917. 6, 7 andrew hauser will provide more insight into this fascinating period in his remarks in a few minutes. as expedient as the accounts were for wartime needs, the historical records show they were also motivated by ambitions of the fed ’ s first leaders to establish the dollar as a major international currency and, for benjamin strong, to establish new york as a great international financial center to rival london. they had their work cut out for them. by 1914, while the u. s. was already the world ’ s largest economy and trading nation, its banking system remained curiously parochial and the dollar was not a major international currency. 8 in fact, american firms continued to finance their trade almost entirely with credits from foreign banks, a source of resentment, with paul warburg, the first federal reserve vice chairman, referring to the annual acceptance fees paid to london banks as a form of “ tribute. ” 9 with the passage of the federal reserve act in 1913, some of the constraints on the emergence of a robust dollar trade financing market were removed and the newly established u. s. central bank could take a more active role in nurturing and backstopping a nascent dollar acceptance market, which it did. these efforts included buying dollar acceptances for foreign central bank accounts at competitive discount rates and providing guarantees, for a small fee, on payments at maturity of acceptances bought for these accounts. 10 these actions helped to spur the dollar ’ s emergence as an important international currency, with dollar acceptances viewed as an attractive reserve asset by the 1920s. the early accounts also represented tangible links of cooperation among major central banks, with much of this cooperation centered on efforts to maintain or restore the international gold standard in the aftermath of the first world war. 11 the reciprocal relationships enabled central banks to buy and sell foreign exchange to influence credit conditions in each other ’ s markets with the aim of regulating cross - border gold movements. in this, central banks of the time viewed acting through foreign central bank correspondent accounts as preferable to acting through private intermediaries. central banks ’ mutual need for safe, confidential, and reliable account services the need for reciprocal relationships continues to resonate with central banks today even following the demise of the international gold standard and major changes in the international monetary system over the past one hundred years. why do central

john c williams : getting to the core of culture remarks by mr john c williams, president and chief executive officer of the federal reserve bank of new york, at “ working together ; an interdisciplinary approach to organisational culture ”, london school of economics and political science, london, 14 january 2020. * * * as prepared for delivery thank you for the warm introduction. it ’ s an absolute pleasure to be back at the london school of economics, where i completed my master ’ s degree in the late 1980s. studying at the lse, with remarkable professors like richard layard, chris pissarides, george evans, and the late tony atkinson, inspired me to pursue a career in economics and public policy. i owe a great debt of gratitude to this institution and am in awe of how it has evolved and grown in the past 30 years. i will say that there are a few things i have not missed since my days in london : the food ( yes, that has changed! ), the high cost of living ( some things never change ), and the endless studying for and worrying about final exams. but i have missed the dear friends i made, the book shops, and the library. it ’ s ironic that i find myself back at the london school of economics andnot talking about economics. the views i bring to today ’ s discussion come from professional and personal, rather than academic experience. i ’ ve now led two major organizations, and culture is both the hardest and the most important thing to get right. culture is at the heart of behavior and norms, and the single most important factor driving the decision - making of employees. it ’ s not an exaggeration to say that culture is critical — both when things go right, and when they go wrong. before i get any deeper into ideas about culture, i should give the standard fed disclaimer that the views i express today are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect those of the federal open market committee or others in the federal reserve system. culture shapes our working lives when we talk about company culture in the context of financial services, the first thing that comes to mind is the risky, unethical, and sometimes criminal behavior in the banking industry, particularly during the financial crisis. and 10 years on from the crisis, this behavior persists. instances of fraud, money laundering, and scandals related to foreign exchange and libor continue to make the headlines. 1 this behavior puts a spotlight on the essential role of robust regulation