The World Economy Transformed

April 17, 2020

The Chamber of Digital Commerce, Reinventing Bretton Woods Committee, and Accenture co-hosted a virtual discussion on the theme of “The World Economy Transformed” which focused on the multidimensional monetary and fiscal policy responses to the global pandemic. Ollie Rehn, Governor of the Bank of Finland, James Bullard, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Benoit Cœuré Head of the Innovation Hub and Director of the Bank for International Settlements, and Barry Eichengreen Professor of Economics at the University of California at Berkeley provided insights and comments on the current response in their respective regions, and globally, and on what to expect for the road ahead.

The conversation left no doubt that the pandemic and resulting responses of central banks and financial policy makers will have major short and long term impacts on global monetary systems. The manner of response will also have significant implications on business and governments, regardless of size, scale, and status over the long term. The shortcomings of the current financial system are being highlighted for the unbanked and for those requiring transactional and payments efficiency to ensure bills can be paid and that bankruptcy is prevented. A keen eye on financial innovation, including central bank digital currency, occurring in the East, is also being kept by global finance leaders. This is not the 1930s, and as panelists shared, the response requires innovation and global cohesion so that catastrophic financial repercussions can be prevented.

Benoît Cœuré, Head of the Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub, published remarks: Learning the value of resilience and technology: the global financial system after Covid-19.