*  *  *  One of the defining characteristics of the recent business expansion in the United States has been the evident reluctance of corporate managers to expand spending and hiring aggressively in response to and in anticipation of continued cyclical growth. A substantial rebound in business spending had been a hallmark of most past economic expansions.
The implementation of macro-prudential policy requires the early identification of risks and their systemic impact, the definition of appropriate and correctly calibrated instruments to mitigate these risks and a governance capable of taking decisions whenever necessary, independently of lack of public support or of possible conflicts with other policies. There are challenges inherent to all these tasks and my remarks will dwell upon them.