Central bankers have been working closely together throughout this period of financial turmoil. Personally, I have found the opportunity to share views regularly with President Trichet and other leading central bankers at various international meetings extremely valuable. We are all in frequent contact by phone as well.
Our consultations allow us to keep abreast of developments in other countries, to compare our analyses of developing trends, and to draw on each other’s experience and knowledge. The merits of coordinated monetary policies have been discussed by policymakers and academics for decades, but in practice, such coordination has been quite rare.