donald l kohn : dedication remarks speech by mr donald l kohn, vice chairman of the board of governors of the us federal reserve system, at the dedication of the new seattle branch building of the federal reserve bank of san francisco, renton, washington, 7 april 2008. * * * good afternoon. it is my honor and pleasure to be here today to help dedicate the new seattle branch building, and to speak about how this terrific new facility will assist the federal reserve system's efforts to help guide the national economy and serve the payment needs of the northwest. i would like to express my personal appreciation to the city of renton for its support and assistance in locating the seattle branch at its new home along naches avenue. as chairman of the committee on federal reserve bank affairs at the board of governors, i have followed this building project closely, and value the city's cooperation in helping ensure its future success. i especially appreciate the city's close cooperation with us in upgrading the utilities and streets serving the site and, essentially, making it a welcome new home for branch employees. the seattle branch, created in 1917, was housed in leased space until a downtown site was built in 1950. although that building served the seattle area's needs well for more than fifty years, service demands on the branch have evolved and outstripped the capabilities of the old building and site. the vault and cash processing areas were no longer adequate for efficient operations, and cash delivery facilities could not accommodate the type and number of delivery vehicles, which had resulted in armored trucks queued along spring street. furthermore, the building's general layout and construction did not meet the post - 9 / 11 security requirements necessary for protecting federal reserve system employees and operations. we considered several sites in the seattle metropolitan area for the new building, initially searching for a suitable site within the city limits. but our site and transportation requirements prompted us to consider options within the broader metropolitan area, and we found that this location's proximity to major roads and highways will improve vehicular access for employees, visitors, and delivery personnel. as you may have noticed, the new site is large – almost 10 acres – and its security is evident. clearly, the safety of our employees and operations is a high priority that has become a greater focus in the post - 9 / 11 era, but the building is more than just secure : its design supports our mission, which is to promote a stable and efficient financial system and to conduct

mr. greenspan ’ s testimony on the international economic and financial system testimony of the chairman of the board of governors of the us federal reserve system, mr. alan greenspan, before the committee on banking and financial services of the us house of representatives on 16 / 9 / 98. as i testified before this committee in the midst of the mexican financial crisis in early 1995, major advances in technology have engendered a highly efficient and increasingly sophisticated international financial system. the system has fostered impressive growth in world trade and in standards of living for the vast majority of nations who have chosen to participate in it. but that same efficient financial system, as i also pointed out in that earlier testimony, has the capability to rapidly transmit the consequences of errors of judgment in private investments and public policies to all corners of the world at historically unprecedented speed. thus, problems that appeared first in thailand more than a year ago quickly spread to other east asian economies that are relatively new participants in the international financial system, and subsequently to russia and to some degree to eastern europe and latin america. even long - time participants in the international financial community, such as australia, new zealand, and canada, have experienced the peripheral gusts of the financial turmoil. japan, still trying to come to grips with the bursting of its equity and real estate bubbles of the late 1980s, has experienced further setbacks as its major asian customers have been forced to retrench. reciprocally, its banking system problems and weakened economy have exacerbated the difficulties of its asian neighbors. the relative stability of china and india, countries whose restrictions on international financial flows have insulated them to some extent from the current maelstrom, has led some to conclude that the relatively free flow of capital is detrimental to economic growth and standards of living. such conclusions, in my judgment, are decidedly mistaken. the most affected emerging east asian economies, despite the sharp contraction in their economic output during the past year, have retraced, on average, only one - sixth of their per capita growth over the past ten years. even currently, their average per capita incomes are more than 2½ times the levels of india and china despite the unquestioned gains both have made in recent years as they too have moved partially to join the international financial community. moreover, outside of asia, several east european countries have made significant progress towards the adoption and implementation of market systems and have increasingly integrated their financial systems into the broader world context to the evident benefit of their