, in the coming years there is even greater need for responsible fiscal policies. and the benefits from fiscal responsibility are not limited to each country separately, but they are shared globally. in designing future economic policies, we need to remember at least three things. first, we need mechanisms to prevent over - borrowing, both in the private and public sector. second, risks need to be priced correctly. too low risk premia will lead to over - borrowing. last, resolving modern financial and economic crises demands international and regional cooperation. achieving all this will require new approaches and new attitudes both in the public and private sector, and this will – of course – be hard. however, failure to achieve these goals would increase the risks of more crises in the future, and this is unacceptable. * * * we are celebrating now the anniversary of one of the world ’ s great central banks, a bank with long traditions and a turbulent past. i think that this jubilee is especially significant for us finns. this is so because the russian and finnish monetary systems share a lot of common history, in particular from the 19th century, when the grand duchy of finland was established as a part of the russian empire. 1860, the birth - year of the central bank of russia, was an important turning point also in the monetary history of finland. in march 23, 1860 ( old style ), emperor alexander ii issued a decree which gave finland a monetary unit of its own, the finnish markka. before that, the bank of finland had issued banknotes denominated in rubles and kopecks. in june, at about the same time when the central bank of the russian empire was established, the first markka banknotes were circulated. both the bank of russia and the national monetary system of finland were born as a result of a crisis which hit the rouble in the latter half of the 1850 ’ s. in 1860, the imperial government of finland sought ways to stabilize the currency with the aim of linking it with silver, even ahead of russia, if necessary. this was the background to the creation of a national monetary unit for finland. at the same time, the russian government carried out a more comprehensive institutional reform by founding a new central bank to replace the old state banks. this was also made as a step towards a stable and market - based financial system. circumstances are completely different now, of course, but one thing remains at least : financial and monetary stability are still the main objectives of today ’

s central bank policies, just as they were during the reforms of the 1860 ’ s. we face challenges and even setbacks from time to time, but must still fulfil our responsibility in crisis management and work towards an even stronger and more resilient financial system in the future. this is not only a national task, it is a global effort where good cooperation is a necessary condition for success. as circumstances change, the necessary tools may also change, but the ultimate goal remains the same. i congratulate the central bank of the russian federation on its anniversary and wish all success in its important tasks, in the service of this country, and as a partner in the international central banking community.