masaaki shirakawa : the role of central banks in the new financial environment remarks by mr masaaki shirakawa, governor of the bank of japan, at the international monetary conference, kyoto, 9 june 2009. * * * introduction let me first thank the hosts for inviting me to the international monetary conference. the imc has a very long history of providing not only its private sector members, but also the public sector with an excellent opportunity to frankly discuss a broad range of issues regarding financial institutions, financial markets and the financial system. we are unfortunately still in the midst of an unprecedented financial crisis, although hopefully the worst is behind us. the topic the organizers have given to us central bankers, " the role of central banks in the new financial environment ", is clearly a very timely one, something which is on our minds everyday. the fundamental role of a central bank remains unchanged, but its functions have gradually changed with the passing of time. in the case of the bank of japan, on - site examinations of financial institutions were introduced in 1928 based on the experience of the financial crisis after world war i. the bank of japan act was revised in 1998 to strengthen the independence of monetary policy. this reflects, among others, the lessons learned regarding the conduct of monetary policy during the bubble period of the latter half of the 1980s. at that time, our on - site bank examination was also given a clear legal backing. how will the role of the central banks around the world change in light of the current global financial crisis? in considering this issue, i would like to first pose two questions to the top executives that are here with us today. first, in the years heading up to the crisis, especially the five year period between 2003 and 2007, did you recognize that risks were building up in your institution and / or in the financial system? second - this is a question about the now famous quote regarding dancing with the music - if we were in the future to experience a similar benign economic period of high growth, low inflation, low interest rates and low market volatility, would you choose a different business strategy? if you were to choose a different strategy, what would be your expectations on the path that senior executives of your rival institutions would choose? while you are responsible for making your bank both profitable and resilient to shocks, the role of the central banks is to assure that your endeavors lead to a sound financial system conducive to economic prosperity. what we central

mark carney : bank of canadaa€™s views on the canadian economy and its monetary policy objective opening statement by mr mark carney, governor of the bank of canada, to the house of commons standing committee on finance, ottawa, 30 april 2008. * * * good afternoon, mr. chairman and committee members. it is a pleasure for me to appear before your committee for the first time as governor of the bank of canada. we at the bank appreciate the opportunity to meet with your committee, which we usually do following the release of our monetary policy reports. these meetings are important in terms of our accountability to canadians, since they allow us to keep members of parliament and, through you, all canadians, informed of the bank's views on the economy, the objective of monetary policy, and the actions that we take to achieve that objective. these meetings have been very valuable for the bank over the years, and i hope that we will continue them during my tenure as governor. before paul and i take your questions, i would like to give you some of the details from our latest monetary policy report, released last week. growth in the global economy has weakened since the january monetary policy report update, reflecting the effects of a sharp slowdown in the u. s. economy and ongoing dislocations in global financial markets. growth in the canadian economy has also moderated. buoyant growth in domestic demand, supported by high employment levels and improved terms of trade, has been substantially offset by a fall in net exports. both total and core cpi inflation were running at about 1. 5 per cent at the end of the first quarter, but the underlying trend of inflation is judged to be about 2 per cent, which is consistent with an economy that is running just above its production capacity. the u. s. economic slowdown is now projected to be deeper and more protracted than was expected at the time of the january update. our latest projection reflects a more pronounced impact on consumer spending from the contraction in the u. s. housing market and from significantly tighter credit conditions. the deterioration in economic and financial conditions in the united states will have direct consequences for the canadian economy. first, exports are projected to decline, exerting a significant drag on growth in 2008. second, turbulence in global financial markets will continue to affect the cost and availability of credit. third, business and consumer sentiment in canada is expected to soften somewhat. nevertheless, domestic demand is projected to remain strong