Mervyn King: Monetary policy – many targets, many instruments. Where do we stand? Remarks by Mr Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England, at the IMF Conference on “Rethinking macro policy II: first steps and early lessons”, Washington DC, 16 April 2013. *  *  *  I would like to thank Charlie Bean, Alex Brazier, Spencer Dale, Andy Haldane and Iain de Weymarn for helpful comments and suggestions in preparing these remarks; and in particular Tim Taylor who I regard as a co-author, although he is absolved of any errors in the current draft. Introduction The past five years has been an extraordinary period for central banks. The breadth and scale of our operations has expanded in ways that were previously unimaginable as we responded to a crisis in the banking sector and the wider economy. In monetary policy, we have moved into uncharted territory. But has our notion of what central banks should do, and how, changed? Now is a good time to reflect on where we stand. I want to focus my remarks on two areas. First, I want to draw out what have we learned about the objectives of monetary policy. Second, I want to reflect on the implications of the proliferation of instruments that have been used to meet those objectives. Objectives For over thirty years the objective of central banks was clear. It was to set monetary policy to achieve long-run price stability.
I also wish that our commitment to achieve future success of the industry as reflected in this event by the joint efforts and collaboration of the regulators, the industry, the market participants and the relevant parties will be further enhanced moving forward. In this regard, I would again congratulate AIBIM on its continuous effort undertake the initiatives in promoting Islamic finance, particularly by organizing this event. 2  BIS Review 115/2006  On this note, I wish you a successful and eventful week. Dengan lafaz Bismillahirrahmanirrahim, saya dengan sukacitanya merasmikan pelancaran "Kuala Lumpur International Islamic Financial Expo 2006". Thank you. BIS Review 115/2006  3