Experts Discuss Global Central Banking During the COVID-19 Pandemic 

A panel of current and former financial officials who have worked in Japan, England, and the United States gathered virtually to discuss how central banks worldwide have reacted to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commissioner Ryozo Himino of Japan’s Financial Service Authority joined experts Donald Kohn of the Brookings Institution, Jeremy Stein of Harvard, and SIPA’s Takatoshi Ito for the September 8 program on “Recent Lessons for Financial Regulation and Macroprudential Policy.”

The conversation focused on the effectiveness of various policy changes in helping nations avoid a financial crisis on top of the real economy crisis. Guided by moderator by Patricia Mosser, director of SIPA’s Initiative on Central Banking and Financial Policy, the panelists examined varied responses including the temporarily easing of some regulations and the use of macroprudential tools and other adjustments to preserve capital and liquidity at financial institutions. 

The webinar is the first in a series on “Central Banking in the COVID-19 era,” which will explore questions about which policies successfully mitigate economic harm, how policymakers have coordinated responses within and across countries, and what work is left to accomplish in the economic policy sphere during the pandemic. 

The series will continue September 24 with ”Implications for Central Bank Independence.”

“Recent Lessons for Financial Regulation and Macroprudential Policy”

September 8

Sponsors: Initiative on Central Banking and Financial Policy; Center for Japanese Economy and Business