30 March 2017  Speech Már Guðmundsson, Governor of the Central Bank, delivered at the 56th Annual Meeting of the Central Bank of Iceland, 30 March 2017. Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Speaker of Parliament, bank directors, foreign ambassadors, ladies and gentlemen! We have come together today for the 56th Annual Meeting of the Central Bank of Iceland. At the time of last year’s meeting, the domestic economy was considered relatively strong. GDP had risen above the pre-crisis peak. National income had risen even more in recent years because of improved terms of trade. Unlike many previous periods of full employment, the economy was well balanced internally and externally, as could be seen in a two-year period of inflation at or below target and a sizeable current account surplus. This was a good position, but we also realised that it could be fragile, as demand pressures were mounting and there was a real risk of overheating. Developments internationally had been favourable for us in many ways, but the tide could turn. We therefore needed to be on the watch, and economic policy had to take this risk into consideration. Then what do we say now, when growth has accelerated even further and demand pressures are even greater, yet inflation has remained below target, inflation expectations have subsided to target, the 2016 current account surplus was at a historical high, and we own more than we owe abroad?
Mr. George comments briefly on the global economy and on recent economic performance in the United Kingdom Speech by the Governor of the Bank of England, Mr. E.A.J. George, at the Dinner with the Lord Mayor for Bankers and Merchants of the City of London on 11/6/98. The past year, since we last enjoyed the generous hospitality of the Mansion House, on this great City of London occasion, has been a testing time. It has been characterised by major imbalances in both the global economy and here in the United Kingdom - which have complicated the task of policy-makers everywhere, including the task of the Bank of England’s now legitimised Monetary Policy Committee. Internationally there has been good news in the enviable performance of the United States - Goldilocks - economy, with continuing robust domestic demand growth and further falls in unemployment, with so far remarkably little inflationary pressure. To the extent that this performance can be sustained, it provides substantial underpinning for the global economy as a whole. And there has been encouraging news, too, in the re-emergence of domestic demand growth in the Continental European countries as they prepare to take the final step to monetary union. That is a promising context for the launch of a strong, credible, currency and I wish the European Central Bank every success in its historic task. Domestic expansion with monetary stability within Europe is in the interest of us all. Elsewhere though the international situation has been decidedly less benign.