Sharon Donnery: Financial regulation in a fragmenting world

Remarks by Ms Sharon Donnery, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland, at the Embassy of Ireland, London, 9 December 2024.

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

Central bank speech  | 
16 December 2024
by Sharon Donnery
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  |  5 pages

Good evening, I am delighted to be here – and many thanks to Ambassador Fraser for the invitation.

I can think of no better location to be discussing a topic of such international and domestic importance.

For while it is often said that we live in challenging and uncertain times, I would like to add we live in important ones.

We live in a time when the structures of our economies are changing.

A time of great progress; but also of potential regress.

A time of huge opportunities; yet with great risks.

A time when the world has never been more connected – yet seems on track to replace generations' worth of economic integration, with a volatile period of economic fragmentation.

Decisions we make now in these important times will shape our future. And how we navigate them will affect our prosperity and our stability.

And so while policymakers need to be focused on preparing and adapting to the future, they should do so remembering the lessons of the past.

The horizon is here

Challenge, change, uncertainty, have all been on the minds of central banks and regulators for a while now. And when we look back at the last 5 years, let alone the last 15 or 20, it is no surprise why! 
But while productivity, competitiveness, and more recently, geopolitics and geo-economic fragmentation, have been a focus, the perspective has often been horizon scanning – anticipating challenges to come.