; board of governors of the federal reserve system, financial stability report, may 2021 ( washington : board of governors, may 2021 ), https : / / www. federalreserve. gov / publications / files / financial - stabilityreport - 20210506. pdf. the supervision and regulation report accompanies this testimony. - 2was fortified by over 10 years of work to improve safety and soundness, from both regulators and the banks themselves. higher levels of capital and liquidity, better risk management, and more robust systems let them absorb an unprecedented shock — while providing refuge from market instability, delivering essential public aid, and working constructively to support borrowers and communities. 3 in short, the full set of post - 2008 reforms — as refined and recalibrated by the work of the last four years — ensured that this time would truly be different than the last. today, the u. s. banking system is actually more liquid and better capitalized than it was a year ago, with over $ 100 billion in additional loan loss reserves, leaving it wellpositioned to weather future shocks. while a strong recovery is underway, it is not yet complete. 4 some households and businesses are still vulnerable, even as we enter this last stretch of the return to normal. our role, as policymakers, is to support the financial system and the economy through the end of this transition back to normal operations. our challenge, however, is to do so as circumstances change and the nation ’ s need for that support evolves. 5 most immediately, we have worked to align our emergency actions with other relief efforts, as the economic situation improves. last spring, the federal reserve adopted a set of extraordinary and mostly temporary measures to ease the strain in financial markets and ensure banks could support communities and meet customer needs. 6 in the last six months, we have see randal k. quarles, “ remarks at the hoover institution ” ( speech at the hoover institution, stanford, ca ( via webcast ), october 14, 2020 ), https : / / www. federalreserve. gov / newsevents / speech / quarles20201014a. htm. see, e. g., jerome h. powell, “ getting back to a strong labor market ” ( speech at the economic club of new york ( via webcast ), february 10, 2021 ), https : / / www. federalreserve. gov /

delisle worrell : ifcs in a borderless digital economy opening remarks by dr delisle worrell, governor of the central bank of barbados, at the conference “ ifc ’ s in a borderless digital economy ”, bridgetown, 11 september 2014. * * * small international business and financial centres like barbados make it possible for international firms to increase their competitiveness in international commerce and finance by locating aspects of their business in subsidiaries located in our international business centre. that is because barbados offers financial, accounting, legal, trading, information, administrative, and other services that are up to international standards, at costs much lower than would be the case in the major financial centres of the world. in barbados firms also find regulatory standards of a quality that are attested to by the imf, world bank, oecd and other international bodies. other advantages that contribute to barbados ’ competitiveness include our institutional strength, social services, and technological readiness. during the course of today ’ s seminar our speakers will demonstrate that small international financial centres such as barbados provide internationally comparable financial and business services at competitive prices, when all the factors that affect the investment decision are taken into account. in this 21st century we live in a new world where production processes transcend national boundaries, even for the smallest of firms. the chinese internet retail service company alibaba, which is currently on a roadshow for what is expected to be among the largest initial public offerings of its kind on international capital markets, advertises itself as a supplier to firms as much as to households. because of telecommunications it is possible nowadays to provide the inputs into any firm ’ s production process from a variety of sources, in many different locations, anywhere in the world. as you would expect, this benefits everyone : producers are able to secure materials, skills, finance and other inputs in the most cost effective manner, and consumers benefit because firms are able to offer best value for money as a result. small ibfcs like barbados enrich the options available to international companies in locating services for the global market, so they may offer more competitively priced goods and services. every ibfc has a unique mixture of characteristics which defines its comparative advantage, and the activities it will attract as a result. in barbados ’ case, a strong network of double taxation treaties is a distinguishing feature, along with the advantages previously mentioned. the globalisation of business therefore offers exciting possibilities for all nations to increase the competitiveness of firms, and to