charles bean : central banking in boom and slump speech by mr charles bean, deputy governor for monetary policy of the bank of england, at the jsg wilson lecture in economics, university of hull, hull, 31 october 2012. * * * good evening! it is a great privilege to be asked to give this year ’ s jsg wilson lecture. professor wilson wrote extensively on many topics central to recent events, most notably money markets, monetary policy and banking. given these interests, it is perhaps unsurprising that the bank of england often fell under his gaze. indeed, in his review of monetary policy in the 1960s, he was moved to remark that “ the most notable contribution [ the bank of england ] has made to the emergence of a new climate is in the matter of publicity and relatively frank speaking ” ( wilson, 1966 ). i hope that i will live up to that pitch this evening, although i aim to demonstrate that our recent contributions have been somewhat more substantive than mere words! last thursday, we heard that the uk economy grew 1 % in the third quarter. yes, it was boosted by one - off factors relating to the diamond jubilee and the olympics. but, even after taking those into account, the figure was stronger than expected. that was welcome news, for the past five years have not been easy. following the bursting of the financial bubble, policymakers in the advanced economies have faced unprecedented challenges. central banks have needed to find new ways to support a financial system under great stress and to buttress economic activity. moreover, the crisis also revealed a major hole in our framework for managing the economic and credit cycles. so tonight i want to discuss some of the actions we have taken in dealing with the crisis and subsequent recession, as well as explaining some of the attendant reforms to the policy framework. let me begin by rewinding the clock five years to august 2007 when financial markets first seized up. uk gdp had grown continuously and at a steady pace for the preceding 64 quarters. and consumer price inflation had been within a percentage point of the government ’ s inflation target for every month bar one since the bank was given operational responsibility for monetary policy in 1997. such stability was historically unprecedented. but the united kingdom was not unique : other advanced economies also experienced a long period of unusually benign macroeconomic outcomes. the period of unusual stability led households, businesses and especially financial institutions to underestimate the risks they were exposed to. together with historically low interest rates, at both the

mr yam presents the 1998 hong kong monetary authority ’ s annual report speech by the chief executive of the hong kong monetary authority, mr joseph yam, on the occasion of the presentation of the 1998 hkma annual report before the legislative council financial affairs panel in hong kong on 3 may 1999. introduction mr chairman, honourable members, i am most grateful to you for giving me this opportunity to speak to you on the occasion of the publication of the hkma ’ s annual report for 1998. the report is tabled at this meeting of the financial affairs panel ; it is also being distributed to all members of the legislative council this morning. this report covers the full range of the hkma ’ s work for the calendar year 1998, in addition to giving an assessment of the economic and banking environment for the year. i have no need to remind members that 1998 was, to put it mildly, an eventful year. the report sets out the many problems and challenges that the hkma has had to grapple with during the course of the year, and explains what actions and initiatives the hkma has been taking to address them. you are all familiar with these issues, and you have the details before you. so i do not wish to take up too much time with a long description. my main focus in this presentation will be on the challenges for the hkma in the coming year, particularly in the light of current economic trends. before i do that, however, i should like just to highlight the challenges and achievements of the past year, and to touch on an issue that i know is of concern to members : the question of accountability and transparency. the year in review nineteen - ninety - eight was an extremely tough year for hong kong. the asian financial crisis, and eruptions in other parts of the world, brought continuing instability. the effects on hong kong ’ s open and outward - looking economy were severe. gdp declined by 5. 1 %, the sharpest decline shown in gdp statistics dating back to 1961. the unemployment rate more than doubled, to 5. 7 % at the end of the year : it has, since then, increased still further. property and share prices plummeted, though they have since regained some of their lost value. the strains and uncertainties of recession have penetrated into every home and every business. the distress has been all the more acutely felt because the recession appeared with dramatic suddenness after many years of vigorous and uninterrupted growth. hong kong