mary c nkosi : reflections on malawi ’ s economy speech by mrs mary c nkosi, deputy governor of the reserve bank of malawi, at the business breakfast organized by sunbird malawi, blantyre, 29 june 2012. * * * • the ceo of sunbird malawi, mr roger gardner • the director of finance for sunbird malawi, mr patrick lisilira • the chairman of the malawi confederation of chamber of commerce and industry ( mccci ), mr chikankheni • chief executive officers of various organisations represented here • distinguished guests ; • ladies and gentlemen i am delighted to be here this morning at this important business breakfast organized by sunbird malawi. let me start by applauding the management of sunbird malawi for their foresight in fostering discussions and debate on issues that affect our economy through such an interaction. it is through such fora that the intellectuals and business community in this country make enormous contribution to the policy making process. i am aware of your active participation in ministry of finance pre - budget sessions and other brainstorming and consultative sessions on the economy. we do not take that for granted. it shows your commitment to seeing positive change in our economy. at the mention of a business breakfast, my expectation was that it was going to be a time to enjoy breakfast while listening to business people discussing. but when i learnt of what was expected of me, i was able to understand the importance if this occasion to the business community and the valuable opportunity it provides in enabling us to interact and share ideas on issues that affect our day to day life, especially things that affect the economy and lives of many malawians. i deem the theme “ think global, act local ” as a very important one especially at this juncture when tremendous will and effort is being applied to fight the numerous challenges facing us. there is renewed optimism amongst malawians, especially the business community ; reflecting the desire of every malawian to see that the economy is doing well and that most people have sufficient income for essentials and perhaps a little extra. we would want to see that businesses are hiring and jobs are relatively easy to get. we may, not have a job for everyone but we would like to see that everyone is well off. distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, the economic problems we have been facing in recent years reflect, to a large extent the sources of our growth. the malawi economy, prior to 2011, performed well, supported by macroeconomic stability. however, this

lael brainard : the federal reserve ’ s financial stability agenda speech by ms lael brainard, member of the board of governors of the federal reserve system, at the hutchins center on fiscal and monetary policy, the brookings institution, washington dc, 3 december 2014. * * * although its founding statute makes no explicit mention of financial stability, the federal reserve was created in response to a severe financial panic, and safeguarding financial stability is deeply ingrained in the mission and culture of the federal reserve board. today, financial stability is more important than ever to the work of the federal reserve board. with the lessons from the crisis still fresh, we are in the process of strengthening our financial stability capabilities. 1 in carrying out the work of financial stability, the federal reserve is seen as the agency with the broadest sight lines across the economy and one that has some important stability tools, as well as a critical first responder when a crisis hits. but the federal reserve also faces limitations as a financial stability authority : it is predominantly a supervisor of banks and bank holding companies2 in a system with large capital markets, several independent agencies have responsibilities for regulation of nonbank financial intermediaries and markets, and no u. s. agency yet has access to complete data regarding bank and nonbank financial activities. recognizing these limitations, the federal reserve is likely to actively utilize the tools under its authority, which means placing a strong emphasis on structural resilience in the largest and most complex institutions, while strengthening less tested time - varying tools to lean against the buildup of risks and, in some circumstances, looking to the unique capacity of monetary policy to act across the financial system. it will also need to cooperate closely with other regulators to develop well - rehearsed working protocols and a joint sense of responsibility for financial stability, while respecting that each independent agency has its own specific statutory mandate and governing body. financial stability agenda in the wake of the financial crisis, the congress and the federal reserve itself became more deliberate and explicit about the responsibility for safeguarding the stability of the financial system. the dodd - frank act, enacted in july 2010, charged the federal reserve with specific authorities for the purposes of safeguarding financial stability. at the federal reserve, we created the office of financial stability policy and research to strengthen our cross - disciplinary approach to the identification and analysis of potential risks to the financial system and the broader economy and to support macroprudential supervision of large financial institutions and, following its