* * *  1 Introduction Ladies and gentlemen Thank you very much for inviting me to speak to you here on Wall Street – any self-respecting central banker would jump at the chance to greet an audience on the world’s most renowned street of money and finance at least once during their career!
I was fascinated to learn that Wall Street got its name from a protective wall built back in the 17th century, and that the New York Stock Exchange was founded there in the late 18th century.