option - implied volatility gbp / usd 3m option volatility gbp / usd 2y option volatility 3m s & p variance swap rate 2y s & p variance swap rate 3m10y normalised imlied vol on usd ir ( lhs ) 2y10y normalised imlied vol on usd ir ( lhs ) basis points per cent jan 10 jul 10 jan 11 jul 11 jan 12 jul 12 jan 13 jul 13 jan 14 jul 14 jan 15 sources : barclays live, bloomberg. implied volatilities are “ normalised ” by the level of interest rates, so the data show the volatility of absolute ( rather than percentage ) changes in swap rates. bis central bankers ’ speeches chart 3 impact of asset price news on volatility in uk equity and debt markets conditional daily volatility ( % ) pre - crisis credit ( jan 2001 - jun 2007 ) post - crisis credit ( april 2009 - jan 2015 ) 1. 8 pre - crisis equity ( jan 2001 - jun 2007 ) 1. 6 post - crisis equity ( april 2009 - jan 2015 ) 1. 4 1. 2 1. 0 0. 8 0. 6 0. 4 0. 2 - 3 % - 2 % - 1 % 0 % 1 % unexpected daily change in price ( per cent ) 2 % 0. 0 sources : bank of american merrill lynch, thomson reuters datastream and bank calculations. bis central bankers ’ speeches chart 4 negative rates in european government bond markets positive negative switzerland - 0. 89 - 0. 99 - 0. 81 maturity ( years ) - 0. 61 - 0. 47 - 0. 38 germany - 0. 27 - 0. 25 - 0. 24 - 0. 21 - 0. 16 - 0. 09 - 0. 02 0. 05 0. 13 0. 20 finland - 0. 20 - 0. 18 - 0. 15 - 0. 11 - 0. 08 - 0. 06 - 0. 03 0. 09 0. 14 0. 22 - 0. 18 - 0. 15 - 0. 13 - 0. 07 - 0. 05 0. 00 0. 07 0. 17 0. 26 - 0. 31 - 0. 04 netherlands - 0. 32 - 0. 29 - 0. 24 - 0. 11 denmark - 0. 80 - 0. 62 austria - 0. 16 - 0. 17 - 0. 17 - 0. 12 - 0. 06 -

management, not ordinary people with deposits in banks. and finally it means making sure that if you take out an insurance contract, it will pay out if whatever you are insuring against happens. the work that the bank does in all of these areas can ultimately be summed up very simply : we maintain confidence in money. this confidence is not, though an end in itself ; it is a means to an end. confidence in money provides the foundations for prosperity. without it, companies would struggle to provide the goods and services we all use every day ; you would face difficulties in knowing how to invest for your futures, be it financing studies or buying a house. maintaining this confidence is the best contribution the bank of england can make to the good of the people of the united kingdom. all speeches are available online at www. bankofengland. co. uk / speeches building public understanding of what the bank does – by engaging with people directly – is essential to our work. that ’ s because our policies work better if our objectives are clear and the british people have confidence that we will do the right thing whatever happens. improving understanding of the bank ’ s role is also part of being accountable to the people we serve. the bank is at the heart of the uk economy. the responsibilities parliament has given us are wide - ranging and the decisions we take affect everyone in the country. people deserve the information and tools to judge how well we are doing our job and to know that we are listening to your views. today ’ s event is also part of a wider effort by the bank to move beyond traditional modes of communication to speak more directly to the people we serve. while three hundred thousand people read the financial times, there are 30 million facebook users in the uk. and while everyone knows it is good to talk, the bank is learning how it can also be good to tweet – our twitter account has 227, 000 followers, though that still leaves us a little behind wayne rooney ’ s 16. 7 million. we are revamping our publications to make them more accessible, using icons and graphics to convey our messages on webpages designed for mobiles and tablets, rather than relying only on pages of words on paper. you can take a look at our first example of this – the november inflation report – online, at www. inflationreport. co. uk. this afternoon ’ s event will showcase a selection of the materials we are planning to run alongside these changes in our communications