There is a broad spectrum of regulations around the financial system; everything from rules on consumer protection to rules on how to act if an agent – a bank, company or household – becomes insolvent. If these micro-oriented rules are not properly designed, the risk of a credit-financed bubble increases, and the consequences can be even greater. This means there is an even greater need to actively counteract this type of development by pulling on the more macrooriented regulation lever, and this may entail rather difficult considerations. One could say that well-designed supervision can support a macroprudential policy in a similar way to a well-designed macroprudential policy supporting monetary policy. Does macroprudential policy require support from monetary policy? So will improvements in regulation and supervision be able to solve all of the problems? Unfortunately, I don’t think so. Quite regardless of which solutions we use, I am quite sure that we will not be totally immune to financial crises in the future. What I hope we can achieve is to ensure they are rarer and less severe. I also believe that there will always be situations where the regulation and supervision may need support from a monetary policy that “leans against the wind”. One reason is that experience shows that it is difficult to construct regulations that cannot be circumvented in one way or the other. The policy rate is certainly a blunt instrument, as it affects all lending in the economy.
Christian Noyer: The history and future of corporate social responsibility Welcome speech by Mr Christian Noyer, Governor of the Bank of France, at the Symposium ICCA – EABH, Paris, 27 October 2008. *  *  *  Minister, Chairman, Ladies and gentlemen, It is a great pleasure to welcome you to the Banque de France today together with the founder of the Institute for Corporate Culture Affairs, Manfred Pohl, who has organised this event. I would also like to thank Ms Kosciusko-Morizet for doing us the honour of joining us in this debate, in her capacity as Secretary of State for the Environment. Welcome to all! I wish to thank those who have come from neighbouring countries, and especially those who have travelled from further a field to take part in this symposium. This symposium is being held in this prestigious setting that is rich in history: the Golden Gallery of the Hôtel de Toulouse. It is in this Hôtel that the Banque de France set up its headquarters two hundred years ago to this year. Much time would be required to recount the history of this building. I should at least mention that this Gallery was designed at the start of the 17th century by François Mansart for Mr de la Vrillière, a minister of Louis XIII.