thomas jordan : why a strong education system must be an important concern for the swiss national bank summary of a speech by mr thomas jordan, chairman of the governing board of the swiss national bank, at the opening ceremony of the faculty of economics and management at the university of lucerne, lucerne, 6 september 2016. * * * the complete speech can be found in german on the swiss national bank ’ s website ( http : / / www. snb. ch / ). a strong education system is a cornerstone for a country ’ s prosperity. switzerland has a federally structured, flexible, high - quality education system. it stands out for its focus on the goal of employability, which is particularly reflected in the dual vocational training system that is closely aligned to the real needs of companies. the education system contributes to an innovative, flexible and robust swiss economy which – given structural and technological changes – can continue to be successful in future. the labour market would not work nearly as well without solid education, and the culture of stability would be less well - anchored in society. these strengths allow the swiss national bank ( snb ) to conduct a monetary policy geared toward long - term stability. attractive universities are an important component of a good education system. the snb maintains an intensive exchange of information and ideas with academia, with the focus on topics relevant to central bank policy. for it can only fulfil its mandate optimally if the relevant research results flow adequately into the decision - making process. in addition, the snb recruits and employs many economists itself. maintaining close ties with the universities is a necessary prerequisite for snb economists to remain on top of the latest economic knowledge and for the snb to be an attractive employer. however, the snb also considers itself a provider of research and teaching services. to the extent possible, it publishes its own research results and also makes available other economic expertise, e. g. in the area of statistics. an academic education is a privilege for which society justifiably expects something in return. for graduates, this presupposes an especially large commitment to making a contribution to switzerland ’ s prosperity and success. the snb also would like universities to make concrete and useful suggestions for swiss economic policy, e. g. with regard to the pension system and healthcare. this is because convincing solutions in these areas make it possible for monetary policy to continue to take full effect. in addition to the economic function, the strong education system also has

, they have contributed importantly to improved transparency in financial markets. the federal reserve bank of new york has also been deeply involved in efforts to reduce foreign exchange settlement risk - - efforts that should further serve to improve market efficiency and overall financial stability. in october 1994, the new york fed - sponsored foreign exchange committee issued a major report on “ reducing foreign exchange settlement risk. ” the bank has also been working actively in this area with other central banks through the g - 10 central bank committee on payment and settlement systems, or cpss, which i have had the pleasure to chair in recent years. building upon the work of the new york foreign exchange committee, the cpss published a document in march of last year, often referred to as the allsopp report, that contains a comprehensive strategy outlining how the public and private sectors can work together to reduce foreign exchange settlement risk. the strategy was endorsed by the g - 10 central bank governors and calls for specific action on the part of individual banks and industry groups. a survey conducted by the cpss last autumn indicates that individual banks are answering the g - 10 governors ’ call for action. many banks have made a good start in improving their ability to measure, manage, control, and net their bilateral settlement exposures, and they plan to push these efforts even further over the next year. while this is a very encouraging beginning, we can ’ t ignore the fact that more work must be done by individual banks. with this in mind, the cpss will continue to closely monitor progress over the next year for any signs of slippage. the search by individual banks for efficient ways to reduce their foreign exchange settlement risk has brought about important progress at the industry - group level as well. the allsopp report noted the efforts of fxnet, s. w. i. f. t, echo, multinet, and the group of 20 banks to offer various types of risk - reducing services, and these ongoing efforts are very encouraging. some banks are also exploring the elimination of settlement risk altogether by shifting the market to trades that simply settle the gain or loss associated with exchange rate movements - - called “ contracts for difference ” - - instead of requiring delivery of the underlying currencies. we are well aware that many market participants are currently debating what constitutes the most efficient multi - currency netting and settlement services. while there will be potential winners and losers, i believe that the market as a whole should ultimately benefit from this rigorous competition. at the same time