Independence - 20 years on

Highlights from the conference

We gathered a wide range of speakers to discuss what it means for a central bank to be free from political influence in London on 28-29 September 2017.  

The Independence Conference marked 20 years since the Bank of England was granted independence to set interest rates. We wanted to take a step back and reflect on central bank independence, its practical application and future challenges. 

Speakers included the Prime Minister Theresa May, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde. 

The event consisted of talks and panel discussions with observers, critics and other central bank practitioners.

Since we were granted operational independence over monetary policy on 6 May 1997, our responsibilities have grown to include financial stability and regulating firms such as banks and insurers.  

Couldn’t be there in person or just keen to delve deeper into the material? Don’t worry, it’s all here: videos, presentation slides and animated summaries of the speeches and panel discussions. 

Conference agenda

Day 1

28 September 2017

The Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, opened the conference by looking back on lessons learned over the past 20 years.

Read Mark Carney's opening remarks

The Prime Minister, Theresa May, spoke about restoring faith in a free market economy. 

Theresa May’s speech

Session 1: central bank independence in retrospect

Guy Debelle, deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, gave a presentation on central bank independence in retrospect. 

Guy Debelle’s presentation

Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown spoke about the history of the Bank of England’s independence. His government granted the Bank operational independence over monetary policy in 1997. 

Session 2: Does the model remain fit for purpose? Monetary policy considerations

Ricardo Reis, professor at London School of Economics, talked about how to measure the success of the current model for central bank independence from a monetary policy point of view. 

Ricardo Reis’s presentation

Stanley Fischer, former governor of the Bank of Israel, shared his reflections on the framework for central bank independence today.

Stanley Fischer’s speech

Session 3: Does the model remain fit for purpose? Financial stability considerations 

Adair Turner from the Institute of New Economic Thinking spoke about the current model for central bank independence from a financial stability perspective.

Adair Turner’s presentation

Day 2

29 September 2017

Session 4: International experiences and models of independence

Adam Posen from the Peterson Institute for International Economics shared his observations on the global history of central bank independence. 

Adam Posen’s presentation

Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the IMF, spoke about central banking and Fintech.

Christine Lagarde’s speech

Session 5: the future of central bank independence

Willem Buiter from CitiGroup spoke about future challenges and possibilities for central bank independence.

Willem Buiter’s speech

Key issues

You can see our panellists discuss some of the key issues raised in these short videos: