Ingimundur Friðriksson: The Central Bank of Iceland and monetary policy Speech by Mr Ingimundur Friðriksson, Governor of the Central Bank of Iceland, at a civic club meeting in Reykjavík, 12 February 2003. *  *  *  In recent years substantial changes have been taking place in central banking in many parts of the world. The main reason is the gradual acceptance of the view that it is natural to anchor central bank monetary policy to a single main objective. Simplified objectives were therefore set for central banks and they were granted greater independence to apply their monetary policy instruments, while more stringent demands were made regarding transparency of monetary policy and central banking activities, and accountability to the government and general public. As a rule, simplification of central bank objectives involved defining a single main objective, i.e. to promote price stability. Central banks were often also assigned a second objective, namely to promote the security of financial systems, or financial stability. Price stability was made the main objective of monetary policy because inflation is above all a monetary phenomenon. There is little point in setting an objective for monetary policy which it cannot attain. Applying monetary policy in order to achieve price stability also contributes to economic stability. This, in turn, provides a basis for the economy to be able to achieve lasting growth and make the most efficient use of its scarce resources. The year 2001 was an eventful one in the history of the Central Bank of Iceland.
Henrique Meirelles: Ten years of floating exchange rates in Brazil Speech by Mr Henrique Meirelles, Governor of the Central Bank of Brazil, to celebrate 10 years of floating exchange rates in Brazil, Central Bank of Brazil, Brasília, 19 January 2009. *  *  *  It is an honor for me to speak to you today, which marks a special date in Brazilian economic history. That is because ten years ago yesterday, January 18, Brazil floated the Real (BRL), breaking with decades of exchange rate manipulation and repression by the government. I will start with some facts and then offer an assessment of the regime so far. First, let me address the global context. Since its inception the floating exchange rate regime has weathered many storms, starting with the bursting of the high tech bubble in 2000, the Argentine crisis in 2001, the September 11th attacks and, recently, the effects of the 2008 global financial crisis. On the other hand, the global environment was on the whole favorable between 2003 and 2007. So, it is fair to say that in its first ten years the floating BRL has faced a pretty diverse external environment, neither persistently challenging nor consistently favorable. Now, let us consider the behavior of the exchange rate itself. The floating BRL has averaged $ against the USD, within a range of $ on the outset, to $ on 22 October 2002. It is nothing but a sheer coincidence that the nominal exchange rate currently stands very close to its 10-year average.