during a dinner with the british press ‘ that the reserve bank system was really the bank of england, and that if we would only promote the right kind of relationship, we ought to be able to consolidate the english and american system, and in some way or other work out a complete cord. this caused some amusement, but was roundly cheered. i did not find the gentlemen present at the dinner particularly well posted in regard to the american financial system. ’ i am not so misguided as to repeat that suggestion here today! but i will end with norman's comment to strong as they were formulating their principles of central banking in 1921 : ‘ if ever you should feel downhearted just you remember that, economically speaking, there is only hope through a community of interest and co - operation between all central banks. ’ thank you – and i look forward to sharing the rest of this commemoration with you. all speeches are available online at www. bankofengland. co. uk / speeches

christine lagarde : ecb press conference - introductory statement introductory statement by ms christine lagarde, president of the european central bank, and mr luis de guindos, vice - president of the european central bank, frankfurt am main, 4 june 2020. * * * ladies and gentlemen, the vice - president and i are very pleased to welcome you to our press conference. we will now report on the outcome of today ’ s meeting of the governing council, which was also attended by the commission executive vice - president, mr dombrovskis. incoming information confirms that the euro area economy is experiencing an unprecedented contraction. there has been an abrupt drop in economic activity as a result of the coronavirus ( covid - 19 ) pandemic and the measures to contain it. severe job and income losses and exceptionally elevated uncertainty about the economic outlook have led to a significant fall in consumer spending and investment. while survey data and real - time indicators for economic activity have shown some signs of a bottoming - out alongside the gradual easing of the containment measures, the improvement has so far been tepid compared with the speed at which the indicators plummeted in the preceding two months. the june eurosystem staff macroeconomic projections see growth declining at an unprecedented pace in the second quarter of this year, before rebounding again in the second half, crucially helped by the sizeable support from fiscal and monetary policy. nonetheless, the projections entail a substantial downward revision to both the level of economic activity and the inflation outlook over the whole projection horizon, though the baseline is surrounded by an exceptional degree of uncertainty. while headline inflation is suppressed by lower energy prices, price pressures are expected to remain subdued on account of the sharp decline in real gdp and the associated significant increase in economic slack. in line with its mandate, the governing council is determined to ensure the necessary degree of monetary accommodation and a smooth transmission of monetary policy across sectors and countries. accordingly, we decided on a set of monetary policy measures to support the economy during its gradual reopening and to safeguard medium - term price stability. first, the governing council decided to increase the envelope for the pandemic emergency purchase programme ( pepp ) by €600 billion to a total of €1, 350 billion. in response to the pandemic - related downward revision to inflation over the projection horizon, the pepp expansion will further ease the general monetary policy stance, supporting funding conditions in the real economy, especially for businesses and