government, firms, households and financial sector participants should be cognisant of the range of potential outcomes and the risks contained within. the central bank has particular powers, and will use them to safeguard monetary and financial stability and to ensure that the financial system operates in the best interests of consumers and the wider economy. this is how we best serve the public interest. thank you, i look forward to the discussion. 1 i would like to thank eoin o ’ brien, martin o ’ brien, thomas conefrey, paul o ’ brien, paul reddan and micheal o ’ keeffe for their contributions to my remarks. 2 the economist : remembering seamus heaney – a shy soul 3 national competitiveness council : ireland ’ s competitiveness challenge ( december 2018 ) 4 donnery, sharon : when is the right time? macroprudential policy and the cycle, national university of ireland ( 31 may 2018 ) 7 / 8 bis central bankers'speeches 5 underlying domestic demand is a measure of spending in the irish economy. it excludes trade in aircraft by aircraft leasing companies and imports of r & d related to intellectual property imports from headline investment. this measure more accurately reflects economic activity within the domestic economy than standard measures such as gdp and gnp. 6 central bank of ireland : quarterly bulletin 1 7 conefrey, t, o ’ reilly, g and walsh, g : ‘ the macroeconomic implications of a disorderly brexit ’, central bank of ireland, box b quarterly bulletin no. 1 8 central bank of ireland : explainer – what does overheating in the economy mean? 9 underlying investment refers to overall investment excluding intangible assets and aircraft. 10 central bank of ireland : quarterly financial accounts 11 source : central statistics office – current account balance for ireland 2007 – 2017 12 capital here refers to common equity capital less intangibles and deferred tax assets as a proxy over time for cet1. 13 sibley, ed : safety and soundness – strategic priorities for the next three years, bpfi risk management & supervisory conference ( january 2019 ) 14 central bank of ireland : identification of other systemically important institutions in ireland and announcement of associated buffers ( 12 november 2018 ) 8 / 8 bis central bankers'speeches

olli rehn : bretton woods @ 75 – what is new with the international monetary system? remarks by mr olli rehn, governor of the bank of finland, at the panel discussion on " bretton woods @ 75 – what is new with the international monetary system? " in the context of the imf spring meetings, washington dc, 12 april 2019. * * * accompanying slides of the speech. your excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, 1. as we are celebrating the 75 - year anniversary of the bretton woods system, let me start by noting that fostering economic and financial stability has been and will continue to be the key objective in developing the international monetary system – as reflected in the establishment of the bretton woods system in 1944, and, more recently, underlying the adoption of europe ’ s single currency, euro. my home country, finland, is a case in point of a small, open economy in search of a stable monetary regime. throughout the 20th century, finland had just one currency, markka, but several changes in its monetary regime – ranging from frequent devaluations to literally cutting large value banknotes in halves. eventually, we decided to join the european single currency, euro, 20 years ago. this has greatly enhanced stability, but also brought challenging adjustment needs. learning by doing, in 2016, after realising that finland ’ s labour cost growth had significantly outpaced that of our peers, an agreement was reached with the social partners that helped to narrow the gap of price competitiveness to our main competitors. the competitiveness pact reduced unit labour costs by 6½ % in the period of 2014 - 17. assisted by strong global demand, the pact was an important factor underlying finland ’ s rebound from zero growth to 2 - 3 % growth in 2017 - 18. one might say, it ’ s small - country open - economy macroeconomics in action! 2. in the international monetary system, the us dollar has been the most important international currency since the birth of the bretton woods system. while we have moved to a more multipolar currency system, with the euro gaining ground since 2000 in international trade and currency markets, and the renmimbi making headway as well, the central scenario is still that the us dollar continues to play the dominant role, and retain its exorbitant privilege as the global reserve currency. when the financial crisis hit with full force, the dollar swap - lines of the fed with e.