This year, 2019, is the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Financial Stability Board (FSB), which means it has also been 10 years since some of the darker days of the global financial crisis. The FSB was not born on a sunny day; it was born of necessity, with storm clouds still looming. An anniversary—particularly a 10th anniversary—is a good opportunity for reflection.
Not far from here, in Antwerp, the artist Peter Paul Rubens painted the “Temple of Janus.” Janus was a Roman god who could look both backward and forward in time, and when Rubens painted the work, citizens of Antwerp were at a turning point and were wondering what the future held for them. Today, I would like to take on the role of Janus.