* * *  Introduction Robert F. Kennedy once said “like it or not we live in interesting times”. 1 As central bankers, supervisors, or market participants alike, those working in financial markets have certainly come through some extraordinarily interesting times in recent years. For central banks, risk management is at the intersection of both central banking and supervisory structures, and the financial market.
It is, therefore, a pleasure to speak to some of the issues which are emerging in this space, particularly in the context of the changing European institutional architecture and regulatory environment. During recent years, fragile, and indeed unstable, economic and market conditions have required central banks to assume potentially substantial financial risks.