Second, actions need to be taken to get academia more involved in policymaking, to bring the discipline of theory-based analyses to the policy debates. That implies a better access to governmental data for academic researchers, to enable them to conduct independent and  BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  rigorous research and expose their results to policymakers and the general public, who should listen to them in return. Well, I hope this is no wishful thinking and I will now leave the floor to our distinguished speakers. Thank you. ***** Closing speech To close today’s conference, I would like to come back to the Foundation and its role. I will focus on a brief historical overview of the Foundation for Monetary, banking and financial economic research. A lot has been achieved since 1995, as you know. What was our goal? To promote excellence in academic research in the field of monetary policy and finance. And did we achieve it so far? Well, over three hundred conferences and seminars have been sponsored. The research grant program has also awarded 81 grants for about 2.4 million euros in total. While it is difficult to identify the potential outcome of projects at an early stage, the program has been rewarded by excellent outcomes. Most papers were published in the best international research journals. Yet not just academic successes were achieved. Some papers were also financed by the Foundation and later became hot policy topics, sometimes with very good insight.
For instance, the Economist magazine estimated that about USD 500 billion to USD 1.5 trillion is laundered through banks each year. Further, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) - an intergovernmental organization under the auspices of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) also estimates money laundering to be in the ranges of USD 590 billion to US1.5 trillion. As a percentage of world economic output, money laundering accounts for about 2% to 5%. Obviously, given the secrecy and the illegal nature of this business, it is difficult to tell exactly the extent of money laundering. Nevertheless, these figures give us an indication of the magnitude of the problem. In this regard, financial institutions, in particular, banks provide a conduit through which money (including laundered money) flows. Because of this, the financial system is the focal point of antimoney laundering initiatives because dirty money is most visible when it is first introduced into the financial system. Ladies and Gentlemen, before I proceed in discussing the various aspects of money laundering including stages in money laundering, its effects on the economy, the global and local initiatives to fight money laundering and the role that banks can play in combating money laundering, allow me to define what money laundering is. For the purposes of my presentation today, I shall define money laundering as the method of hiding, mixing and disguising the proceeds of criminal activities through legally operating institutions for the purpose of destroying the origins of the proceeds.