mr duisenberg discusses prospects, challenges and opportunities for the euro area and gives a brief overview of developments in latin america speech by dr willem f duisenberg, president of the european central bank, at the conference “ resilience and resurgence in latin america ”, held in new york on 1 october 1999. * * * ladies and gentlemen, europe ’ s strong ties and close affinity with latin america stem from its people ’ s common origins, culture, and trade. i am particularly pleased, therefore, to be able to participate in this conference. during the past few months, the prospects for the global economy have gradually improved and the world economy appears to be heading towards a more balanced growth path. while uncertainties still remain as to the strength of the recovery, especially in regions which were most affected by the global slowdown in 1998, the risks of a worldwide recession have receded and inflationary pressures generally remain subdued. a more optimistic view of the global economy is warranted, as macroeconomic policies around the world have become more stability - oriented over the past decade. a general consensus has emerged on the need for monetary policy to focus on the achievement and maintenance of price stability. in many countries, a higher level of fiscal discipline has also favoured the pursuit of a stability - oriented monetary policy and has set the conditions for a more sustainable economic growth. while these are certainly important policy achievements, still, as emphasised by the imf in its latest world economic outlook, important challenges lie ahead and need to be addressed by policymakers around the world if a long - lasting and sustainable recovery is to be ensured. the growing international integration of capital markets offers great opportunities for a more efficient allocation of global resources. as recent experience has shown, however, it also carries risks of destabilisation, especially in countries where domestic financial systems are fragile or macroeconomic imbalances are still present. in such a situation, economic policy faces new and more complex challenges. it is important to stress, however, that the improved outlook for the global economy points to the possibility of addressing old problems and facing new challenges with a higher probability of success. this is particularly true for the euro area economy where the outlook for growth has recently improved, contributing to more optimistic prospects at the global level. the euro area comprises the economies of the eleven countries which, at the beginning of this year, introduced the euro, the new single european currency. in the euro area, a slowdown in output growth was observed around

elizabeth a duke : opening remarks at the public hearing on potential revisions to the home mortgage disclosure act opening remarks by ms elizabeth a duke, member of the board of governors of the federal reserve system, at the public hearing on potential revisions to the home mortgage disclosure act, washington dc, 24 september 2010. * * * good morning. on behalf of the board of governors of the federal reserve system, i ’ d like to welcome everyone to the last of our series of public hearings held to discuss changes to the home mortgage disclosure act ( hmda ). the knowledge and feedback we have gained from these hearings will help us to assess the adequacy of current mortgage data, examine the need for additional data, and explore possible changes to regulation c, which implements hmda. i ’ d like to thank our colleagues at the federal reserve banks of atlanta, san francisco, and chicago for hosting the first three hearings. our series of hearings kicked off just as congress passed regulatory reform legislation earlier this summer. the dodd - frank act provides for some changes to hmda data collection and submission, and we look forward to hearing from our panelists and members of the public about the implementation of these changes. the new law also transfers authority for hmda rulemaking from the board of governors to the new consumer financial protection bureau ( cfpb ). all information gleaned from these hearings will inform our own work for the time that we continue to have rulewriting authority. when that authority transfers to the cfpb, be assured that we will hand over the most current thinking about changes to regulation c. over the course of these hearings, we have heard from key players in the home mortgage market : lenders and other market participants, academics and researchers, consumer advocacy and community development organizations, data experts, regulators, and other public officials. although they play different roles, we believe that all share a common goal : to ensure that the mortgage market is responsible, transparent, efficient, and serves the needs of consumers and market participants alike. clearly, the recent mortgage crisis has highlighted the potential ramifications of a mortgage market that is not functioning well. hmda data do not create the market or solve all market problems, but they do help us understand what is happening in the market. the time is certainly ripe for reviewing and revising the data elements, standards, and reporting formats. hmda has three purposes. one is to provide the public and government officials with data that will help show whether lenders