donald l kohn : managing risk in a changing economic and financial landscape remarks by mr donald l kohn, member of the board of governors of the us federal reserve system, at the banker ’ s association for finance and trade and institute of international bankers conference, new york, 15 june 2005. * * * i am pleased to lead off what promises to be a very interesting conference. as i thought about the conference title - " charting a course for the future " - it struck me that, since one can never really know what the future will bring, charting specific paths to preconceived destinations is of limited value. to be sure, we make our best forecasts and base our actions on them. but perhaps the most important thing we can do - as managers of financial institutions, as regulators, and as monetary policymakers - is to develop systems for our actions and reactions that can accommodate the unexpected - that is, we can become better managers of risk. the evolution of financial markets and institutions has greatly affected the process of risk management. the means of managing risk have broadened dramatically, but the resulting systems could well be challenged by developments over coming years. i would like to take a few minutes this morning to ruminate on the changes in financial systems and their implications for risk management, the possibility that developments in our macroeconomic landscape might test these systems, and the steps you as private participants, and we as public policymakers, have been taking to raise the odds on preserving healthy financial systems and economies when the unexpected inevitably occurs. 1 the changing financial landscape change in financial markets over the past decade or so has been rapid and profound. new computing and telecommunication technologies, along with the removal of legal and regulatory barriers to entry, have resulted in greater competition among a wider variety of institutions, in broader geographic areas, and across an expanding array of instruments. the result has been an increase in the efficiency with which financial markets channel funds from savers to spenders and an improvement in the ability of both savers and spenders to adjust their risk profiles. among the key technological innovations are those that have enabled the development of databases critical to pricing and managing the risks of financial instruments. the ability to value risky assets laid the foundation for understanding the risks embedded in those assets and managing those risks on a portfolio basis. the evolution of financial markets has meant that more people and institutions have a greater number of alternatives for supplying or acquiring funds. in addition, both lenders and borrowers have a much

øystein olsen : the conduct of monetary policy introductory statement by mr øystein olsen, governor of norges bank ( central bank of norway ), at the hearing before the standing committee on finance and economic affairs of the storting ( norwegian parliament ), oslo, 20 may 2011. please note that the text below may differ from the actual presentation. the statement is based on norges bank ’ s annual report for 2010, monetary policy report 1 / 11 and the executive board ’ s assessments in the period to the monetary policy meeting on 12 may. * * * i would like to thank the chairman of the committee and also thank the committee for this opportunity to report on the conduct of monetary policy in connection with the storting ’ s deliberations on the government ’ s financial market report. my statement here today is based on the bank ’ s annual report, but also on the executive board ’ s assessments for the period to the most recent monetary policy meeting and new information. i also refer to this year ’ s report from norges bank watch, a group of experts that evaluates norges bank ’ s conduct of monetary policy. 1. activity in the norwegian economy has gained a firm footing the global financial crisis that unfolded in 2008 gave rise to the most severe economic downturn of our time. there was a dramatic decline in international trade, and in the following year world gdp decreased for the first time in generations. although global economic growth has recovered, the outlook remains uncertain. for a long time we have observed the increasing prominence of china and other emerging economies in the global economy. these countries also weathered the crisis well and have helped to restart economic growth in several western countries. however, the global trade imbalances that accumulated prior to the financial crisis are still present. several countries must sharply reduce public expenditure to bring rapidly rising government debt under control. this may have a dampening impact on growth ahead. high commodity prices could also depress activity. chart : consumer prices strong growth in demand for energy and commodities from emerging economies has led to a marked rise in the price of oil, grain and other commodities. in addition, unrest in north africa and the middle east has fuelled uncertainty concerning the supply of oil ahead. food and energy represent a large share of consumption in many countries and inflation has therefore picked up. nevertheless, in most advanced economies long - term inflation expectations are relatively stable and consumer price inflation is being dampened by low capacity utilisation and high unemployment.