If we have learned one lesson from this traumatic year, 2007, it is that all banks need to revisit their criteria for decision-making; commercial banks in judging today’s risks, and central banks for using those triple licenses we hold on your behalf, and on that of the people of this country.
Satisfactory resolutions of these uncertainties will require hard work and close cooperation among bank regulators, the industry, Congress, and other key players. There is a long way to go, but the Federal Reserve is committed to this task.