Policy agenda Our immediate focus must be to limit the damage of the financial crisis on the real economy, and stop the downward spiral created by the negative feedback loop. Policy measures must include not just fiscal and monetary policy stimulus, but also an acceleration of structural changes to correct the underlying imbalances, to put the global economy on a sounder footing for renewed growth. There has also been much discussion about regulatory reform. Reform is certainly necessary, but we must avoid swinging the regulatory pendulum to the other extreme. While the present system has major flaws, it is not fundamentally broken. Fixing these flaws demands thoughtful and pragmatic changes at the global level. Piecemeal quick fixes, which may be logical and perhaps even headline grabbing, may end up creating unforeseen and unintended consequences. It would be a mistake, for instance, to swing towards overly prescriptive rules, or to severely restrict all forms of securitisation and financial innovation. As financial markets are at different stages of development in various countries, we must also avoid a “one-size-fits-all” approach. Certainly, we will need greater international cooperation, and the work of bodies such as the IMF, FSF, BCBS, IOSCO, IAIS, 3 and initiatives sponsored by groupings such as the G20 will be important in this reform effort. An effective regulatory framework for Islamic finance The current global crisis has posed a series of extreme stress tests on financial systems and our regulatory approaches, and offers many important pointers for the development of Islamic Finance.
At our monetary policy assessments in June and September, we indicated we would also consider selling foreign currency depending on the development of the exchange rate. Accordingly, we have sold foreign currency in recent months to ensure appropriate monetary conditions. We will also sell foreign currency in the future if this is appropriate from the monetary policy perspective. Conversely, we remain willing to buy foreign currency again if necessary, i.e. if there were to be excessive appreciation pressure. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your attention. I now hand over to Martin Schlegel, who will speak about the latest developments with regard to cash. Page 3/4  Berne, 15 December 2022 Thomas Jordan  News conference  Page 4/4