senior management by 2020 ( from our current 44 % ). but achieving these goals isn ’ t just going to happen. it requires : • focussed recruiting • active mentoring • consistent and comprehensive performance management, and • a flexible work environment that values diversity of thought today, each division of the bank knows where it stands and has plans in place to improve, where necessary. so in this sense, the bank has implemented two of the report ’ s recommendations. the bank has also recognised the importance of executive accountability for diversity, another key recommendation of jayne - anne gadhia ’ s report. charlotte hogg, our coo, oversees the bank - wide diversity initiatives under our senior managers ’ responsibilities. the bank ’ s commitment to diversity cascades through the organisation. our diversity goals now form an explicit part of the objectives of each executive and the management of individual directorates. our recruitment process is open and transparent to all, including for senior appointments. the bank has also been focussing heavily on how to create the right environment to achieve these targets. we are looking closely at what drives performance, differentiates talent, motivates the right behaviours, and creates barriers to success. we have made a strong commitment to flexible working at all levels of the organisation. over 11 % of our staff are employed on a formalised flexible working arrangement. in a recent survey, almost two thirds felt that they had a good balance between their work and personal life. encouragingly three quarters believe that the bank takes diversity seriously. our women in the bank network set up a mentoring programme, which is now in its second year. this is complimented by the work of some of our other thriving staff networks – our bank of england ethnic minority ( beem ) network for example has established a “ building bridges ”, reciprocal mentoring programme – designed to foster relationships, networks and understanding between senior management and more junior bame colleagues. we also have an lgbt network working hard to promote understanding, increase awareness and break down barriers. our broader leadership training programme emphasises unconscious bias training to ensure diversity can flourish and progress. this training is part of our broader focus on values. values count heavily when assessing performance and reward. all managers – including myself – are assessed by colleagues on their values and behaviours – with direct and explicit feedback. bis central bankers ’ speeches we are monitoring the effect of all of these changes, including through regular staff surveys. we are aiming for further significant improvement in how our staff perceive the bank ’ s support

- out from last year ’ s financial disturbances, against the background of the longer - standing financial and economic fragility in japan - which is of course the largest economy in the asian region. the concern relates in part to the implications for global economic activity ; but it relates importantly, too, to the prospective external payments imbalances within the global economy which will need to be handled very carefully if they are not to lead to trade frictions and / or exchange rate volatility. but attention has also turned to an intensive reappraisal, in all sorts of international fora, of more effective means of preventing, and managing, such situations in the future. it would have been understandable in the light of the asian experience if there had been some turning back from the path towards greater freedom of international capital movements, and there has been some suggestion of this. but on the whole the international debate - in which central banks as well as governments are actively involved - continues to recognise the long - term benefits of free capital movements and the contribution that they can make to global economic prosperity. the mood is to continue cautiously down that path, but to emphasise the need, not only for sound macro - economic policies, which everyone accepts as a sine qua non, but also for steps to accompany capital account liberalisation designed to reduce the risks of volatility. these relate in part to the process of capital account liberalisation, where there is now a good deal more stress on ‘ sequencing ’ - that is on liberalising potentially more stable, longer - term, capital inflows initially, rather than short - term borrowing denominated in foreign currency. but they relate particularly to three key conditions for living with free capital movements. the first is “ transparency ”. in a broad sense a need for greater transparency is recognised in relation to public policy, to the relationship between the public and private sectors, to corporate governance, accounting standards, and so on. in a narrower sense there is seen to be a need for more reliable, and greater and more timely disclosure of, financial information generally, at the level of individual borrowing entities, but especially also in relation to countries ’ true foreign exchange short - term asset and liability positions. this is especially important in relation to the foreign currency liquidity position of the monetary authorities and of the banking system. the general point is that we cannot reasonably expect markets to make a proper assessment of the risks of their investments, including particularly their short - term