Stanley Fischer: The independent Bank of England - 20 years on

Speech by Mr Stanley Fischer, Vice Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, at the Bank of England "Independence - 20 years" Conference, London, 28 September 2017.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

It is a pleasure to speak at this commemoration of 20 years of Bank of England monetary policy independence. In my remarks today, I will consider how central banking in the United Kingdom and the United States has evolved in response to the challenges of recent years. I will address a limited set of topics and will have time to touch only briefly on each.

These remarks are divided into three parts. In the first part, I will discuss several aspects of aggregate monetary policy: central bank independence, policy transparency, and policy tools. In the second part, I consider differences between the approaches of the two banks to their lender-of-last-resort function. And, third, I will close with brief reflections on the central bank's responsibility for financial stability.