philip lowe : what is normal? address by mr philip lowe, deputy governor of the reserve bank of australia, to the australian business economists annual dinner, sydney, 5 december 2012. * * * i would like to thank jonathan kearns for valuable assistance in the preparation of this talk. thank you for the invitation to speak at tonight ’ s dinner. this is the second time that i have participated in the abe ’ s annual forecasting conference and it is a pleasure to be here once again. the title of my remarks this evening is in the form of a question. and that question is, “ what is normal? ” the oxford dictionary defines the word “ normal ” as “ conforming to a standard ; usual, typical or expected ”. 1 the question of “ what is normal ” therefore seems an appropriate one for an annual forecasting conference. for many of us, our days are spent looking at economic and financial developments and asking whether they are “ usual, typical or expected ”. and if we conclude they are not, we ask ourselves will things return to normal, and if so when, or has normal changed? like many of you, i often get asked if what we are seeing is “ normal ”, “ the new normal ”, “ the old normal ” or is it something different? in many areas of life our perceptions of what is normal are crucial to how we feel about what is going on around us. there are, for example, a range of human behaviours that were once considered normal but would cause many of us considerable angst if we saw them today. what is considered normal, and entirely unremarkable in one context, can be viewed very differently in another. so context and experience are important. with that in mind, my remarks tonight are split into two parts. first, i would like to look back over australia ’ s recent economic performance and what it means for people ’ s perceptions of what is normal. and then second, i would like to talk about some issues related to monetary policy and what is considered normal. australia ’ s recent economic performance on a number of fronts, the past 20 years have been very good ones for the australian economy. during the early part of this period, the economy was recovering from the sharp downturn of the early 1990s recession. we then had the boom in housing prices and credit. that was followed by the sharp rise in the terms of trade, which was only temporarily interrupted by the financial crisis in the north atlantic.

burkhard balz : the impact of digitalisation on the financial system speech by mr burkhard balz, member of the executive board of the deutsche bundesbank, at the fgv - ebape in rio de janeiro, rio de janeiro, 29 april 2022. * * * 1 introduction ladies and gentlemen, fgv students and faculty members, professor norden, thank you very much for inviting me here today. it is a great pleasure for me to be at the fgvebape in rio de janeiro. given the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus pandemic over the last two years, i do not take this opportunity for granted and am very thankful for the chance to exchange views with you today. one thing is for sure ; you can ` t go to brazil and not go to rio de janeiro. when you think about brazil, it is rio that first comes to mind. rio is one of the most sought - after destinations in brazil and has more citizens than some european countries in total. however, rio de janeiro is not just known for its carnival and sunny beaches, but also for its unique fintech climate and its role as an economic powerhouse. the city of rio de janeiro is home to the headquarters of many private, national, multinational, and state corporations. needless to say, the rise of digitalisation in society and business will also affect the future of this city. i am not only delighted to be in rio de janeiro, but, more importantly, to be able to discuss the impact of digitalisation on the financial system with you here at the fgv - ebape today. digitalisation is picking up speed. this affects universities, as well as you as students. not just as consumers, but also as future employees and managers in business, digitalisation will accompany you throughout your lives. digitalisation is pertinent to the entire financial sector. as my colleague roberto campos neto, president of the banco central do brasil, once so aptly put it : “ there can be no more difference between a large bank or a fintech. all financial institutions must be digital. ” 1 digitalisation is also very evident in payments : it fundamentally changes the way we pay. this brings me straight to the subject of my speech. as the deutsche bundesbank executive board member responsible for the area of payments, i have been monitoring changes in this sector since september 2018. it is clear to me that the pick - up