At the same time, we must take care that our efforts to ensure the safe and sound operation of the financial markets do not stifle the innovation and creative energy that is changing banking and finance – indeed, the world – for the better. With these thoughts in mind, it is my firm conviction that to successfully meet the challenges of the twenty-first century, our very notion of supervision, broadly speaking, must evolve to include financial institutions themselves and the discipline applied by the marketplace. Supervision in the twenty-first century And so what is the purpose of supervision in the twenty-first century? What are the objectives, and how can those objectives be best pursued? Let me say first of all that there is no easy or single answer to these questions. The twenty-first century financial marketplace is too dynamic, too complex, and supervisors must work within the political realities of our respective nations. What I envision is a flexible, multi-faceted strategy that emphasizes prudence and problem prevention, compatibility with the market, and a close and cooperative working relationship between the private and public sector. With these priorities in mind, I believe there are three essential elements of a modern supervision framework: •  effective bank-level management;  •  market discipline; and,  •  official supervision. Let me discuss each of these in turn, noting that each should reinforce the others to effectively promote a safe and sound financial system.
Eva Srejber: New economy - or blend of new and old? Speech by Eva Srejber, Second Deputy Governor of the Sveriges Riksbank, at a meeting arranged by WM-Data ub Tylösand on 23 October 2000. *  *  *  Major technological changes have occurred before. Then as now, many people talked about a new age that would involve better communications, new economic relations and a very promising future. It is therefore important to keep a level head amidst the technological enthusiasm over future opportunities. The fact that I am today emphasising the risks more than the advantages, is not because I consider the risks to be more important than the advantages, but because the risks appear to have been largely forgotten in the general debate on the economy. Let us make a sober analysis of what is happening, and maybe we can avoid repeating the mistakes made during previous technological leaps. Moreover, I will touch on the uncertainty and lack of information regarding the structural changes currently taking place in the economy. In conclusion, I will also indicate to what extent these phenomena have already affected and can be expected to affect monetary policy. It has happened before A nation’s economy is constantly subject to changes that lead to reappraisals or to the development of old economic relations and theories. This is nothing new.