My invitation listed a number of topics and the one that caught my eye was entitled, the paradoxes inherent in the role of central banks; I would therefore wish to take this opportunity to discuss the kinds of challenges that the Bank has been facing in the pursuit of its mandate.
I will couch the discussion in the context of two current macro-economic challenges: •  The current economic slowdown  •  The Clico/CIB crisis  Over the last few years, we have achieved rapid economic growth. However, as you know, the Central Bank has had to face the specter of unacceptably high inflation.