Macklem: The global financial system

Good afternoon and thank you for the invitation. It’s a pleasure to be here with Paris Europlace and the Chambre de commerce France-Canada. Six weeks ago, I was here in Paris with G7 finance ministers and central bankers. Much of our meeting focused on the conflict in the Middle East and its implications for near-term growth and inflation. The US-Iran agreement signed last week is a very welcome development and global energy prices have begun to come down, though much remains to be worked out. We also discussed medium-term growth. We expressed concern that global imbalances are widening again, with some countries running large deficits and others running large surpluses that persist over time. And we discussed how to promote more balanced growth over the medium term. This is what I want to talk about today. Renewed G7 focus on global imbalances began last year under Canada’s presidency and has continued under France’s leadership this year. So it seems appropriate that a Canadian central banker talk about global imbalances while here in France. But I will acknowledge that this is not an easy topic. Global imbalances are not front of mind for households or businesses. And they are not even obviously problematic. Indeed, trade deficits and surpluses are an integral part of our mutually beneficial global system of open trade and investment. But when imbalances are too big and too one-sided for too long, they become excessive. When needed adjustment is not happening, imbalances can spill over —and then we all feel it. Through trade and investment flows, exchange rates and asset prices, imbalances can affect employment, inflation and financial security. And they can affect more than our economies—they can affect relations between countries. Canada is BANK OF CANADA'S MACKLEM SPEECH: WARNS RISING ROLE OF HEDGE FUNDS IN GOVT DEBT MARKET MAY BE MAKING THIS MARKET MORE FRAGILE, PRONE TO CONTAGION #finance #hedgefunds #economy BoC: Financial system dominated by new and less regulated players Macklem: while imbalances shift gradually, appeal of U.S. dollar may have prolonged persistence of imbalances Macklem: To build a more balanced and resilient global system, more destinations for savings beyond the U.S. are needed

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