the federal reserve, we continue to foster more - accommodative financial conditions and, in particular, lower mortgage rates through our monetary policy actions. we also continue to monitor mortgage credit conditions and consider the implications of our rulemakings for credit availability. for your part, i urge you to continue to develop new and more sustainable business models for lending to lower - credit - score borrowers that lead to better outcomes for borrowers, communities, and the financial system than we have experienced over the past few years. staff calculations are based on the federal reserve bank of new york consumer credit panel. first - time homebuyers are measured as consumers who have no record of ever having a mortgage at the end of the second quarter of a given year and opened a mortgage in the third quarter. this estimate includes all types of mortgages but excludes first - time homebuyers who purchased their homes with cash. the credit score was generated from the equifax 3. 0 risk model and measured the credit score as of the end of the second quarter. consumers without a credit score are excluded from the analysis. bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches

to suggest that a person ’ s appreciation increases in parallel with the knowledge he or she has about the way in which these two factors interact. a number of studies indicate that economic education has – to put it diplomatically – some room for improvement. the bundesbank has therefore expanded its economic education programmes in recent years. by using educational materials and organising various types of events, we want to improve to the best of our ability the general public ’ s understanding of monetary and foreign exchange policy issues. for example, our regional offices provide teacher training, visit school groups and organise public lectures under the motto “ forum bundesbank ”. the feedback that we have received on these initiatives has been very positive. bis central bankers ’ speeches i myself meet once a year with teachers and once with pupils. time and time again, i see when young people visit the bundesbank that they are very interested in our work and ask intelligent questions. we should, of course, be aware that the impact that such measures can have is limited in terms of both breadth and depth. such was the account recently given by the senior business editor of the frankfurter allgemeine zeitung concerning her own offspring : “ it is a positive thing that [ the bundesbank ] goes into schools to raise awareness about monetary stability and to provide insights into the secrets of interest rate policy. it really is never too early to start tackling such topics in times such as these. however, it should be under no illusions as to the success of its efforts. my child took precisely one term away from the talk given by a bundesbank representative to a year 12 class : marginal lending facility. ” incidentally, this technical term is even on the sixth form curriculum in bavaria. that being said, it is also clear that the jargon that we have become accustomed to as central bankers should not detract from the essentials. the principle of liability as a guide but it is not just vocabulary that detracts from the essentials. nowadays, economists ’ reasoning is highly mathematical and model - oriented, which often makes it difficult for noneconomists to comprehend. however, institutional rules and regulations have also become so complex nowadays that often only a few experts are able to fully understand them. consider the federal financial equalisation system, for example. addressing this subject, peer steinbruck once said, “ there are only three people that really understood this concept. the first is dead. the second is in a mental asylum.