variety of reasons, one of them being concerns about the current account deficit. subsequently the krona began to depreciate and continued to do so more or less uninterrupted but on the whole in an orderly fashion over a period of a year and a half until the end of november last year. by that time, it had fallen by about a third against other currencies. this large depreciation is not without precedent in other countries. in that respect, i might mention, since we are in stockholm and since i have drawn some parallel with the other nordic countries, that the swedish krona fell in broadly similar proportions over a period of time after the exchange rate was floated in late 1992. the depreciation of the icelandic krona fed into domestic prices and inflation picked up significantly. late last year, the exchange rate had clearly overshot sharply on the downside. then expectations turned around again. it was clear, among other things, that the economy was cooling down and that the current account deficit was shrinking fast. optimism also arose once prospects improved that the inflation spike, which followed the exchange rate depreciation, would subside quickly again. the krona began to appreciate and has by now regained an important part of its earlier value. inflation has subsided sharply again this year and expectations are that the inflation target of 2½ percent will be achieved before the end of the year. the large current account deficit recorded in the year 2000 also began to shrink rapidly, it fell by more than half in the year 2001 and the outlook is for approximate balance this year. these developments demonstrate the resilience and adaptability of the icelandic economy ; moving from a very large current account deficit to virtual balance in the course of two years and reducing inflation from bordering on a two - digit rate to 2½ percent within one year. although developments in iceland showed many of the same characteristics as those in some of the other nordic countries during the post - liberalisation rapid expansion, such as credit expansion, current account deficit, exchange rate depreciation and so on, iceland escaped the difficulties suffered by banking systems in some of the other countries. icelandic bank credit grew very rapidly in the late 1990 ’ s and into the year 2000 and a sizable portion of the credit expansion was financed with credit from abroad. the capital adequacy ratios of banks fell for a while but nevertheless remained comfortably above the minimum required and internationally recognised levels. the year 2001 also turned out to be quite favourable for

ravi menon : can the three musketeers click? finance, technology, trust speech by mr ravi menon, managing director of the monetary authority of singapore, at the bank of france lecture, paris, 14 may 2019. * * * mr francois villeroy de galhau, governor, banque de france, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good morning. i thank banque de france for the opportunity to share my thoughts at this lecture. both france and singapore are mature economies, enjoying a high per capita income but reaching the limits of growth through increases in factor inputs. if we are to continue growing and enrich the lives of our citizens, it must be through innovation. and if we are to spread the benefits of growth, innovation must be pervasive and not the exclusive preserve of the talented or well - endowed. innovation is not a zero - sum game. it thrives on diversity, collaboration, and openness. there is much we can learn from each other. france and singapore have been deepening collaboration in areas such as finance, science, and technology. 2018 was designated as the france - singapore year of innovation. today, i want to focus on innovation in financial services. globally, the financial industry is facing slower economic growth, tighter regulation, and keener competition. to overcome these headwinds and contribute to the broader economy, the industry needs to harness technology, foster innovation, and transform itself. but how to do this, while maintaining the single most important commodity that underpins financial institutions – trust. as stephen covey said : “ strength lies in differences, not in similarities ”. this principle is embodied in the french novel “ the three musketeers ” by alexandre dumas. set in the 17th century, the novel recounts the journey of d ’ artagnan, who left for paris to join the musketeers of the guard, and how he overcomes all adversities. together with him are three musketeers with contrasting personalities : athos who is intelligent ; porthos who is adventurous ; and aramis who is true and faithful. but together they form a well - balanced trio that supports d ’ artagnan on his journey. the three musketeers today are finance, technology, and trust, corresponding to athos, porthos, and aramis. society is d ’ artagnan. can the three modern musketeers work together to support society? can they complement one another? can