carolyn wilkins : bank of canada ’ s latest monetary policy report press conference opening statement by ms carolyn wilkins, senior deputy governor of the bank of canada, at the press conference following the release of the monetary policy report, ottawa, ontario, 13 july 2016. * * * good morning. governor poloz and i are pleased to be here to talk about today ’ s interest rate announcement and our monetary policy report ( mpr ). before turning to your questions, let me spend a few minutes highlighting the main points of discussion that took place within governing council. our bottom line is that the underlying forces that underpin stronger growth in canada are intact, and the adjustment of the economy to lower oil prices is well under way. that said, both international and domestic factors have led us to revise down our forecast for gdp growth. most importantly for canada, there is good underlying momentum in the us economy, even if the composition of us growth is somewhat less favourable for canada than it was in april. we are seeing relatively strong labour market conditions in the united states, consumers are confident, and the rate of new firm creation is back near pre - recession levels. all of this suggests that the weak start to 2016 was largely temporary. the us economy remains a key driver for global growth, which we forecast will strengthen gradually to 3 1 / 2 per cent by 2018. however, the results of the referendum in the united kingdom have clouded the global outlook. governing council carefully considered how best to incorporate the effects of the brexit vote into the outlook. it is early days, and there will be a prolonged period of uncertainty as authorities work out how the united kingdom will exit from the european union. governing council decided to incorporate in the base case projection a 0. 2 per cent reduction in the level of global gdp by the end of 2018. this reflects direct trade effects and some confidence effects on business investment. we are assuming that the brexit process will proceed in an orderly fashion. financial markets were resilient despite sharp adjustments in a wide range of global asset prices in the wake of the vote, and financial conditions are generally more accommodative. now let me turn to the canadian economy. our discussions focused on how we should look through the choppiness in recent data to see the underlying trends, and what these trends mean for the inflation outlook. among other factors, the fires in northern alberta, which have been costly for many, represent a sharp, but temporary, hit to the

charles bean : polymer banknotes remarks by mr charles bean, deputy governor for monetary policy of the bank of england, at the bank of england, london, 10 september 2013. * * * good morning and welcome. one of the bank ’ s most visible responsibilities is the issuance of banknotes. it is a long - standing responsibility that dates back to shortly after our founding in 1694 and over the past three centuries, our objective has remained the same, namely to supply good - quality, genuine banknotes that command the people ’ s trust. meeting that objective helps us to achieve one of our core purposes, which is to maintain confidence in the currency. following a three - year research programme, we are today announcing the launch of a public consultation regarding the possible introduction of polymer as the basis for the next generation of banknotes. polymer banknotes are made from a durable, yet thin and flexible plastic film. design features of the banknote are printed on the film, meaning these notes can look very similar to notes printed on paper. if the public reception to the proposal is supportive, then the recently announced sir winston churchill £5 and jane austen £10 notes would be issued on polymer. this change would happen in 2016 and 2017 at the earliest. the bank ’ s research programme has been wide ranging, investigating the impact of the introduction of polymer notes along several dimensions, including : security, durability, costeffectiveness, the impact on stakeholders in the cash industry, environmental considerations, and the likely impact on noteholders. in undertaking the research, we have worked closely with external stakeholders from the cash industry and have already engaged with the public through several independently - managed focus groups. and we have consulted other countries that have undertaken research into different banknote materials, of which several have already switched to the use of polymer, including australia and canada. based on this research, we are confident that printing our banknotes on polymer would bring several benefits : first, polymer notes are more secure. polymer notes are harder to counterfeit and allow for the inclusion of “ windows ” or clear portions in the design, which considerably enhances counterfeit resilience. such features also allow users to check whether notes are genuine quickly and easily. second, polymer notes are more durable and resistant to damage. as a result, polymer banknotes last at least two - and - a - half times longer than notes printed on paper. and because polymer banknotes last longer, they don ’ t need to be replaced