That is why Jayne-Anne Gadhia’s report, brimming with practical recommendations, is potentially so valuable. To be clear, the report’s recommendations are voluntary, they are not regulatory requirements. It is for institutions themselves to determine how best to take forward the findings. In this regard, I would like to commend the leadership of those here today who are committing to implement the steps recommended. The principles, values and recommendations of the Report are familiar to us at the Bank of England. Two years ago, with the launch of our strategic plan, we made “diverse and talented” a central pillar of our efforts to promote the good of the people of the United Kingdom. We recognised that, as a public institution, our workforce should reflect the diversity of this country. We saw that given our broad range of new powers and tremendous responsibilities, we needed to work more effectively and collaboratively across all aspects of One Bank. And we concluded that we needed to be more diverse and open to different ideas and strong internal challenge, not only to avoid the dangers of groupthink, but also to harness the best from all of our people. Our focus on building diversity is paying off. In June 2013 we had no women deputy governors and just one female Executive Director. Today, two out of five Deputy Governors, and four out of sixteen Executive Directors are  3  https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/31480/11-745-women-onboards.pdf. 4  http://www.catalyst.org/system/files/why_diversity_matters_catalyst_0.pdf. 5  http://www.catalyst.org/system/files/why_diversity_matters_catalyst_0.pdf. 6  https://www.bba.org.uk/news/reports/diversity-and-inclusion-in-banking/#.Vu_NbXJxqUk. 2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  women.
Mark Carney: Opening remarks to the “Empowering productivity: harnessing the talents of women in financial services” report launch Opening remarks by Mr Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England and Chairman of the Financial Stability Board, at the Gadhia Review launch, Bank of England, London, 22 March 2016. *  *  *  Good morning and welcome to the Bank of England. It’s a pleasure for us to host the launch of the “Empowering productivity: harnessing the talents of women in financial services” report. A series of transformations are sweeping financial services. First, since the crisis, a comprehensive series of reforms have strengthened the resilience of banks. Capital requirements are now seven times the old standards for most banks. For global systemically important banks (G-SIBs), they are more than ten times higher. For UK banks, liquid asset holdings have tripled. Trading assets are down by a third and inter-bank exposures have shrunk by two thirds. Second, the aftermath of the crisis exposed serious deficiencies in the conduct of many market participants. Now, the tide of ethical drift is being reversed and trust in our institutions is beginning to be rebuilt as a result of the conclusion of the Fair and Effective Markets Review, the launch of the Banking Standards Board and the FICC Markets Standards Board, as well as the start of the Senior Managers Regime, and the embedding of new compensation regimes that better align rewards with risks taken.