I’m not going to bore you with a lesson on the technical delights and subtleties of monetary policy. Let’s just say that we have a central mandate – price stability – and a main instrument for achieving this – the short-term interest rate. But for the past ten years, since the great financial crisis, we have been using new instruments: quantitative easing (QE), forward guidance i and even negative rates. These non-standard policies have been effective; but they can also create the – mistaken – illusion that monetary policy is omnipotent. Third signal: rarely has Europe appeared so necessary and at the same time so divided. I am a French and European official, I was in Maastricht 28 years ago to launch the euro; every two weeks I take part in meetings of the ECB Governing Council which manages the currency. I stand by this conviction in Europe and in the belief that the joint work carried out by France and Germany is an indispensable driver, even if it is not enough. Nearly 30 years ago, the fall  Page 2 of 10  of the Berlin Wall injected new impetus into the construction of Europe. Today, Europe is turning in on itself, is on the defensive. Yet it is vital that it make itself heard in the face of the threats that it is facing, and that it do so with one voice if it doesn’t want to be inaudible.
John C Williams: The gold beneath our feet Remarks by Mr John C Williams, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, at the GARP Global Risk Forum, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, New York City, 7 November 2019. * * * As prepared for delivery When plans for the New York Fed’s headquarters here at 33 Liberty Street were developed in 1921, the building committee compiled 33 pages of requirements for potential architects.1 I can assure you that our appreciation for bureaucracy has endured the test of time! Joking aside, the focus of many of those requirements was specifications for the building’s gold vault. Beneath our feet lies a triple-tiered vault system with 122 separate compartments for storing gold bars. For those of you who are Harry Potter fans, it’s as close to Gringotts Bank as you’ll find anywhere in the world—although for security reasons I am not allowed to confirm or deny that we have a dragon down there. The whole building was constructed around the vault. Engineers had to excavate 117 feet down to the bedrock for a foundation that could support the weight of the construction. Why am going into so much depth about the gold? There is a reason! But before I explain, I should give the standard Fed disclaimer that the views I express today are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect those of the Federal Open Market Committee or others in the Federal Reserve System.