As we saw with the onset of the global financial crisis, in the face of deflationary pressures, monetary policy makers can resort to asset purchases in the form of quantitative easing to ease the stance of monetary policy and financial conditions more broadly. Central bank asset purchases can be seen as working in two ways. Asset purchases as a substitute for changing Bank Rate First, they are a potential substitute for monetary easing via the conventional lowering of interest rates should the effective lower bound on Bank Rate bind. In this context, QE can influence the economic outlook through a number of channels. On the basis of quantity-theoretic considerations, an expansion of the central bank’s monetary liabilities may raise inflation expectations directly. QE can also offer guidance to the market about the Bank’s plans for interest rates. In short, QE may work through a signalling channel. The increase in central bank reserves associated with QE may lead to portfolio rebalancing, as banks attempt to restructure their balance sheets by buying financial assets or making loans. More generally, the absorption of duration from markets associated with Bank of England purchases of government debt financed by the creation of central bank reserves can trigger efforts by a broader set of market participants to rebalance portfolios, leading to a bidding up of asset prices. Higher asset prices ease the wider set of financial conditions faced by households and firms, supporting economic activity alleviating deflationary pressures. In sum, QE may also work through a portfolio balance channel.
Strengthening financial market infrastructures is another important initiative underway to make the financial system more resilient and robust. In this regard, there are two important strands of work underway. First, there is strong momentum both in the United States and abroad to require that standardized OTC derivative products be cleared through central counterparties (CCPs) and that the information associated with all OTC derivatives trades be reported to trade repositories, with this information then being available to regulators around the world. Second, the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems (CPSS) and the International Organization of Securities Commission (IOSCO) are undertaking a review of international standards for financial market infrastructures. This review will lead to a comprehensive set of  BIS Review 131/2010  7  recommendations as to what constitutes best practice with respect to the operations of financial market infrastructures. These recommendations will apply to a broad array of financial market infrastructures, including CCPs and trade repositories. The final report will be completed during the first half of 2011. The goal will be to have these standards endorsed by the Financial Stability Board and the G-20 leaders. With those endorsements, it should be possible to harden the recommendations into more substantial standards. In all of the reforms that we are implementing it is important that we pay close attention to the shadow banking system.