Esteemed Guests, Before concluding my speech, I would like to thank you for your participation. I hope our assessments and analyses will help the participants of the financial market to undergo a better decision-making process. BIS Review 68/2006  5
Others say that the consequences may be more difficult to deal with and more persistent precisely because the country has its own currency and is not under the wing of a large currency area. Yet others claim that if Iceland fixes itself against another currency and obeys the laws of others – interest rates based on what is happening in France, Italy and Germany and not in Iceland – that this will produce a more cautious attitude up here in the frozen north, the appetite for risk will diminish and economic developments will take a healthier turn. Thus there are countless questions, of which I have mentioned only a few. Of course I have taken care in these opening remarks to leave all these questions open for those who follow. It is a particular pleasure to have lured so many distinguished guests here to do theoretical battle about these questions. It is equally welcome to give our leading experts the opportunity and time to ponder these issues and present their own views. So everything promises a rewarding outcome from this conference. It has been organised with ample reason, in the right place and at the right time, and with exceptionally qualified speakers.