Greater challenges and scrutiny lie ahead for central banks
The next decade is likely to see a rate of change not witnessed before, which will require financial markets and policymaking to be agile
A few months ago we marked the 10-year anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the start of an eventful period for financial markets and policymakers. The past decade was characterised by strategies to deal with the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis through a combination of “firefighting” and trying to correct the fault lines of the crisis. Major central banks found themselves in unfamiliar territory. They relied increasingly on a broad set of unconventional policies, the most prominent being quantitative easing (QE), to boost inflation, support growth and reduce unemployment. Many commentators warned at the time that the longer central bankers went down that route the more complex the exit would be. Some countries are still implementing QE, while others are withdrawing such measures. As this “great exit” unfolds and central banks pursue monetary policy normalisation and look to shrink their balance sheets, debates continue to rage about the success, or otherwise, of...
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