participants ’ view of the long - run equilibrium real interest rate. 3 unfortunately for such an inference, however, longer - term yields embody expectations of future interest rates, a term premium, and potentially a premium for the relative illiquidity of these instruments, so this technique will provide an overestimate of the equilibrium real rate. conclusion this brief discussion highlights the uncertainties attending any attempt to measure the equilibrium real rate. i find these measures useful teaching tools to describe the complicated and iterative process of forecasting the path of the economy so as to arrive at the appropriate stance of policy. however, i believe it to be very important that the fomc not go on a forced march to some point estimate of the equilibrium real federal funds rate. in my judgment, we should remove the current degree of accommodation at a pace that is importantly determined by incoming data and a changed outlook. our knowledge of the workings of the economy is sufficiently imprecise that we could not attach much confidence to any single calculation that one might make of the equilibrium rate. moreover, history provides a daunting record of challenges to economic forecasting associated with changes in antulio bomfim ( 1997 ), “ the equilibrium fed funds rate and the indicator properties of term - structure spreads, ” economic inquiry, 54 ( 4 ), pp. 830 - 46. thomas laubach and john c. williams ( 2003 ), “ measuring the natural rate of interest, ” review of economic statistics, 85 ( 4 ), pp. 1063 - 70. see, for instance, antulio bomfim ( 2001 ), “ measuring equilibrium real interest rates : what can we learn from yields on indexed bonds? ” finance and economics discussion series 2001 - 53 ( washington : board of governors of the federal reserve system ). economic behavior, the evolution of technology, and swings in governmental policy that would suggest that the equilibrium can vary over time. in such circumstances, the performance of the economy will provide feedback to assess the level of the equilibrium real federal funds rate over time.

anita angelovska bezhoska : technical and legal aspects of joining sepa payment schemes speech by ms anita angelovska bezhoska, governor of the national bank of the republic of north macedonia, at the workshop on technical and legal aspects of joining sepa payment schemes, skopje, 29 january 2025. * * * mr. paolucci, world bank team, speakers at the workshop, representatives of financial institutions, distinguished guests, it is a true honor and privilege to kick off this important event on payment systems, a topic that touches nearly every aspect of our daily lives and drives economies forward. in today's rapidly evolving landscape, payment systems are at the core of how businesses, governments, and consumers interact, and in making sure that transactions are seamless, secure and efficient. in this vein, enhancing cross - border payments has been a priority both for advanced and emerging economies. for instance, in late 2020, the g20 leaders endorsed the roadmap for enhancing cross - border payments, thus bringing benefits through lower costs, faster speed, higher transparency and improved access in the payments area. to monitor the progress, bis launched a monitoring survey among central banks in 2023, covering three main areas : 1 ) payment system interoperability and extension, 2 ) data exchange and message standards, and 3 ) legal, regulatory and supervisory frameworks. the findings of the survey1 reveal that enhancements of the cross - border payments have been underway, as 71 % of rtgs systems and 91 % of fast payment systems ( fps ) have completed or are planning to complete at least two of the priority actions2. yet, vast room for improvements remains, including in the area of harmonizing or bringing closer legal, regulatory and supervisory frameworks that are indispensable for smooth and efficient cross - border payments. enhancing cross - border payments is of vital importance for the western balkans economies, as well. this region comprises of relatively small and open economies, with their international trade to gdp averaging close to 100 %. most of them are already highly exposed to eu in terms of trade and financial linkages ( close to 60 % of their overall export goes to the eu ), while intraregional trade needs further deepening. in fact, the latter – enhancement of regional economic integration is the second pillar of the growth plan for the western balkans. stronger regional economic integration is considered one of the driving forces for faster real convergence, as " small and fragmented markets are unable