As we know, central banks typically work individually to achieve objectives for their domestic economies. In the case of the Federal Reserve, monetary policy is conducted to achieve our statutory objectives of maximum employment and price stability. And, of course, fostering a stable financial system is key to attaining these goals.
But the experience of the past few years has illustrated – first with the global financial crisis and more recently with the strains in Europe – that cooperation and coordination among central banks around the world may be necessary at critical junctures to achieve these domestic objectives.