Finally, I come to the fourth connection between Stan and Finland. As Governor of the Bank of Finland, I have had the privilege of meeting Stan often and in different places: in the U.S., at the BIS meetings, in Israel, and elsewhere.
We were particularly honoured when Stan, then Governor of the Bank of Israel, took the time to participate in the Bank of Finland’s 200th anniversary conference in Helsinki in 2011. In the remarks he gave in that conference, Stan asked whether a more developed financial system is associated with higher growth rates. He expressed some skepticism on the issue.