role as a reserve currency globally. moreover, we have a robust and diverse banking system that provides important services along with a widely available and expanding variety of digital payment options that build on the existing institutional framework with its important safeguards. circumstances where the central bank issues digital currency directly to consumer accounts for general - purpose use would raise profound legal, policy, and operational questions. that said, it is important to study whether we can do more to provide safer, less expensive, faster, or otherwise more efficient payments. some jurisdictions are likely to move in this direction faster than others, based on the particular attributes of their payments and currency systems. at the federal reserve, we look forward to collaborating with other jurisdictions as we continue to analyze the potential benefits and costs of central bank digital currencies. most immediately, the federal reserve is actively working to introduce a faster payment system for the united states, to improve the speed and lower the cost of consumer payments. in many countries, consumers are already able to make real - time payments at low cost. this summer, the federal reserve announced the first new payment service in more than 40 years — the fednow service — to provide a platform for consumers and businesses to send and receive payments immediately and securely 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. - 9as the public and private sectors work to reduce payment frictions, one of the most important use cases is for cross - border payments, such as remittances. current cross - border payments solutions are often slow, cumbersome, and opaque. authorities in many jurisdictions, including the united states, recognize the importance of cooperating across borders with each other and the private sector to address these cross - border frictions. 13 technology will continue driving rapid change in the way we make payments and the concept of “ money. ” as central bankers, we recognize the power of technology and innovation to transform the financial system and reduce frictions and delays, and the importance of preserving consumer protections, data privacy and security, financial stability, and monetary policy transmission and guarding against illicit activity and cyber risks. given the stakes, any global payments network should be expected to meet a high threshold of legal and regulatory safeguards before launching operations. the work ahead is not easy — the policy issues are complex, the coordination challenges are significant, and there are likely to be few simple fixes. because the road ahead is complicated and challenging, i am especially pleased that benoit will continue to help us navigate these issues as the new

øystein olsen : the conduct of monetary policy introductory statement by mr øystein olsen, governor of norges bank ( central bank of norway ), at the hearing before the standing committee on finance and economic affairs of the storting ( norwegian parliament ), oslo, 20 may 2011. please note that the text below may differ from the actual presentation. the statement is based on norges bank ’ s annual report for 2010, monetary policy report 1 / 11 and the executive board ’ s assessments in the period to the monetary policy meeting on 12 may. * * * i would like to thank the chairman of the committee and also thank the committee for this opportunity to report on the conduct of monetary policy in connection with the storting ’ s deliberations on the government ’ s financial market report. my statement here today is based on the bank ’ s annual report, but also on the executive board ’ s assessments for the period to the most recent monetary policy meeting and new information. i also refer to this year ’ s report from norges bank watch, a group of experts that evaluates norges bank ’ s conduct of monetary policy. 1. activity in the norwegian economy has gained a firm footing the global financial crisis that unfolded in 2008 gave rise to the most severe economic downturn of our time. there was a dramatic decline in international trade, and in the following year world gdp decreased for the first time in generations. although global economic growth has recovered, the outlook remains uncertain. for a long time we have observed the increasing prominence of china and other emerging economies in the global economy. these countries also weathered the crisis well and have helped to restart economic growth in several western countries. however, the global trade imbalances that accumulated prior to the financial crisis are still present. several countries must sharply reduce public expenditure to bring rapidly rising government debt under control. this may have a dampening impact on growth ahead. high commodity prices could also depress activity. chart : consumer prices strong growth in demand for energy and commodities from emerging economies has led to a marked rise in the price of oil, grain and other commodities. in addition, unrest in north africa and the middle east has fuelled uncertainty concerning the supply of oil ahead. food and energy represent a large share of consumption in many countries and inflation has therefore picked up. nevertheless, in most advanced economies long - term inflation expectations are relatively stable and consumer price inflation is being dampened by low capacity utilisation and high unemployment.