, may 2020 ), https : / / www. federalreserve. gov / publications / files / 2019 - report - economic - well - being - us - households - 202005. pdf. lael brainard, “ delivering fast payments for all ” ( remarks at the federal reserve bank of kansas city town hall, august 5, 2019 ), https : / / www. federalreserve. gov / newsevents / speech / brainard20190805a. htm ; “ supporting fast payments for all ” ( remarks at the fed payments improvement community forum, chicago, october 3, 2018 ), https : / / www. federalreserve. gov / newsevents / speech / brainard20181003a. htm. federal reserve actions to support interbank settlement of faster payments, 84 fed. reg. 39, 297 ( august 9, 2019 ), https : / / www. govinfo. gov / content / pkg / fr - 2019 - 08 - 09 / pdf / 2019 - 17027. pdf. potential federal reserve actions to support interbank settlement of faster payments, request for comments, 83 fed. reg. 57, 351 ( nov. 15, 2018 ), https : / / www. federalregister. gov / d / 2018 - 24667. u. s. treasury, a financial system that creates economic opportunity : nonbank financials, fintech, and innovation ( department of the treasury, july 2018 ), 156 – 157, https : / / home. treasury. gov / sites / default / files / 2018 - 08 / a - financial - system - thatcreates - economic - opportunities - - - nonbank - financials - fintech - andinnovation. pdf? mod = djem _ b _ fintech _ 20180302. communities they serve, no matter their size or geographic location, should have equitable access to the u. s. payment system. through the direct connections that we have with more than 10, 000 banks, the fednow service will be broadly accessible to banks and the communities they serve across the country. the fednow service will not only expand but also strengthen the u. s. payment infrastructure by operating alongside the private - sector instant payment service, the clearing house ’ s rtp network. as they do for other payment services, many banks may choose to maintain access to more than one instant payment service

important in the assessment of an economy ’ s debt sustainability and in comparisons with other countries ’ indebtedness. on the other hand, gross debt is important as well, especially as regards re - financing needs and potential pressure on the exchange rate of the krona. in this context, it is important to consider whether the debt is generated by the private sector or the treasury, or by firms with a treasury guarantee. significant private sector re - financing needs that cannot be funded with new loans can exert pressure on the exchange rate, which in turn can have a negative effect on other debtors with foreigndenominated debt, but they will not cause national insolvency. if households or businesses cannot pay their foreign - denominated loans, they become bankrupt, and the debt is written down at the expense of the foreign creditor. if the treasury ends up in that position, however, it could have serious repercussions for the nation ’ s access to foreign credit markets and the financing terms available for the long term. it is important to avoid this, and it should be possible, even if iceland ’ s access to foreign credit remains limited. in this context, it is of key importance that the foreign exchange reserves be large enough to support the treasury ’ s upcoming loan payments, which amount to roughly 1½ billion euros in the winter of 2011 – 2012. the central bank ’ s foreign exchange reserves totalled just over 480 b. kr., or 2. 8 billion euros, at the end of 2009. this amount has changed little since then. the reserves amounted to nearly one - third of gdp and just over 14 months ’ worth of imports. by that measure, these are the most sizeable foreign exchange reserves that iceland has “ owned ” since the end of world war ii. “ owned ” is perhaps not the right word, however, because our current foreign reserves consist largely of borrowed funds, while we owned our post - wwii reserves debt - free. in all, loans taken in the past few years for the express purpose of strengthening the reserves, plus the central bank ’ s foreign exchange deposits owned by parties other than government entities, total 3. 8 billion euros, or 1 billion euros more than the reserves. the resolution committees of the failed banks have central bank deposits totalling nearly 1 billion euros. those balances will be paid out in the months and years to come. if they are deducted from the reserves, together with other funds that will likely