, i have underlined some of the challenges facing monetary policymakers in the current postpandemic and energy - crisis environment. if we keep an open mind and continue learning the lessons of this new environment, i ’ m confident that we will be able to get our policy right – or if not always right, then at least as little wrong as possible – in the tough times going forward. and research, of course, will have an essential role to play in and contribute to this constantly evolving policy process. with these words, let me wish you a very productive and fruitful conference. thank you for your kind attention. olli rehn ( / en / other - pages / tag - search /? tag = olli rehn ) governor ( / en / other - pages / tag - search /? tag = governor ) speech ( / en / other - pages / tag - search /? tag = speech ) in ation ( / en / other - pages / tag - search /? tag = in ation ) monetary policy ( / en / other - pages / tag - search /? tag = monetary policy )

also identified valuation practices as critical. the ssg reported that those firms that paid close attention to the problems associated with the valuation of financial instruments, particularly those for which markets were not deep, fared better. these more - successful firms developed in - house expertise to conduct independent valuations and refrained from relying solely on third - party assessments. federal reserve's mortgage initiatives i would now like to discuss some of the actions the federal reserve is taking to address the ongoing challenges in the mortgage market. the federal reserve's decisions regarding monetary policy and our efforts to promote financial stability affect mortgage and housing markets, of course. but, we are also working on these issues more directly on a number of fronts as we are very concerned about the high rate of mortgage foreclosures. we are contributing to initiatives already under way at the local and national level, as well as collaborating with other regulators, community groups, policy organizations, financial institutions, and public officials in an effort to identify ways to prevent unnecessary foreclosures and the associated negative effects on local communities. in doing so, we are taking advantage of the decentralized geographic structure of the federal reserve system, which consists of the board of governors in washington, d. c., and the twelve federal reserve banks that each represent a region of the country. in recent months, for example, i have had the opportunity to get a firsthand look at what is happening in various parts of the country. i have met with local community groups, bankers, housing advocates, counseling agencies, and state and local government officials in cincinnati, minneapolis, philadelphia, boston, miami, and las vegas. the reserve banks representing those areas have helped facilitate these meetings, which have enhanced my understanding of the challenges being faced across the country and of how policymakers should think about these issues at both the local and national levels. we are engaged with mortgage servicers to understand impediments they may face when modifying loans or offering other alternatives to foreclosure. we have encouraged the mortgage industry to increase their efforts to work with troubled borrowers, to develop guidelines and templates for reasonable standardized approaches to various loss - mitigation techniques, and to adopt transparent reporting standards. clear disclosures of loan modifications will not only make it easier for regulators, the mortgage industry, and community groups to assess the effectiveness of foreclosure - prevention efforts, but they will also foster greater transparency, and hence greater confidence, in the securitization