have demonstrated the critical role central banks can and must play in extraordinary times when market stress and dysfunction threaten to spill over into the economy. no private institution has the ability to provide liquidity at the speed or scale that the federal reserve and other central banks have this year. although we often talk about the fed in terms of monetary policy and interest rates, the federal reserve system was originally created to ensure the stability of the financial system. 10 that role is as relevant today as it was 107 years ago, and will continue to be in the future. conclusion let me conclude by returning to my analogy of these critical markets as the heart of our circulatory system. recent events have reaffirmed what many already knew. liquid, wellfunctioning markets for treasury and related securities are absolutely essential for credit to flow and the economy to prosper. assuring that these markets are robust and resilient to unknown future circumstances may seem like a daunting task, but as captain picard also taught us, “ things are only impossible until they ’ re not. " thank you. 1 john c. williams, rising to the challenge : central banking, financial markets, and the pandemic, remarks at the 16th meeting of the financial research advisory committee for the treasury ’ s office of financial research ( via videoconference ) ( july 16, 2020 ). 2 u. s. department of the treasury, board of governors of the federal reserve system, federal reserve bank of new york, u. s. securities and exchange commission, and u. s. commodity futures trading commission, joint staff report : the u. s. treasury market on october 15, 2014, july 13, 2015. 3 john c. williams, libor : the clock is ticking, remarks at the 2019 u. s. treasury market conference, federal reserve bank of new york, new york city ( september 23, 2019 ). 4 john c. williams, money markets and the federal funds rate : the path forward, remarks at the mfa outlook 2019, new york city ( october 17, 2019 ). 5 federal reserve bank of new york, statement regarding repurchase operations, september 20, 2019. 6 the impact of these strains on liquidity in the treasury market is discussed in michael fleming and francisco ruela, treasury market liquidity during the covid - 19 crisis, federal reserve bank of new york liberty street economics, april 17, 2020. 7 for the treasury market, see michael fleming and francisco

more imaginative uses. last but not the least, i would also like to sound another note of caution for the bankers present here. with all talks surrounding changing profiles, social habits and requirements of the gennext customer ( gen y or the millennials ), the banks must not lose sight of aging population. the next 15 years would see approximately 70 mn more people crossing the age of 60 years. these old age people would have different banking needs and would need to be serviced through appropriate delivery channels. similarly, the pace of urbanisation in the country is only going to get heightened in the coming years and hence, banks would need to be geared up to cater to the requirements of this migrant population also. conclusion 6. i think i have scared you enough by highlighting the impending challenges that the banking sector is likely to face going forward. as clay christensen, harvard professor puts it “ disruptive innovation can hurt, if you are not the one doing the disruption. ” most of the scenarios that are going to play out are external to our system and hence, you need to be prepared, lest you get hurt. i believe the elite panel gathered here today would deliberate and reflect on some of the issues i have raised today. i once again thank mint and tamal for inviting me and wish you all a fruitful deliberation. thank you! bis central bankers ’ speeches