It is clear that if residents were free to exit at the same time, they would participate in the run on the currency, and confidence would evaporate quickly, leaving us with a new currency crisis to grapple with. Of course, this is an extreme scenario in some respects, as the estates’ ISK assets, for instance, are not all liquid at this point in time, and a portion of the offshore krónur could be patient capital. But it gives an indication of the kind of problem we are dealing with. Therefore, we need other solutions that safeguard stability and prevent additional burdens from being placed on the sovereign or the Icelandic people. Such solutions do exist, and a large group of experts – foreign consultants; the task force for capital account liberalisation, which works for the steering committee on the capital controls; and experts from the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs – has been working hard on developing them in recent months. I would like to take a moment now and thank all of these people for their tireless efforts and excellent work. It would be premature to publicise solutions at today’s meeting. Moreover, it is not within my purview to do so on my own.
Honoured guests: As the Chairman of the Supervisory Board mentioned in his speech, the Central Bank was relatively successful in working towards its goals in 2014. In addition, a great deal of work was done to ensure the efficacy of the capital controls, the smooth  BIS central bankers’ speeches  5  operation of financial system infrastructure, and the recovery of legacy assets from the crisis, among other things. This would not have been possible without the competent and hardworking people employed by the Bank. I wish to thank you all for your efforts. In this context, I would like to stress how important it is that, whatever amendments may be made to the Central Bank Act, the Bank must remain a strong institution capable of safeguarding monetary and financial stability in Iceland. In order to do so, it must have the independence to apply its policy instruments to this end. It must also be a professionally strong and vigorous workplace where senior management and staff members have a dynamic interactive relationship on matters relating to operations, analysis, and policy formulation. In closing, I would like to thank the Central Bank’s many collaborators for a successful cooperative relationship over the past year, in particular the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs and the Financial Supervisory Authority. I thank the financial institutions with which the Bank interacts for their cooperation. I would also like to thank the Parliament of Iceland, particularly the Economics and Commerce Committee, for their collaboration. 6  BIS central bankers’ speeches