DOCSLIB.ORG

ISB Paper Series Selected Research Papers on Social Banking and Social Finance

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
ISB Paper Series Selected Research Papers on Social Banking and Social Finance ISB Paper Series Selected Research Papers on Social Banking and Social Finance No. 11 Complementary Monetary Systems ‘Homoepathic Medicine against economic Collapse’ by Dr. Heinz Brodbeck 10 June 2013 Institute for Social Banking | ISB Paper Series, 11 No. , June 2013 | www.social-­‐banking.org 1 Complementary Monetary S ystems ‘Homoepathic Medicine against economic Collapse’ Heinz Brodbeck (16 June 2013) Abstract Hundreds of financial crises have destroyed economies, enterprises, and individual existences over the last decades. Most of these collapses were related to inherent weaknesses in the monetary system. This situation calls for fundamental worldwide changes and innovation in the monetary and banking system. Financial reforms seem due. The questions are what kind of change is most appropriate and is there already a solution that cures the illnesses of the current system once and forever and globally? Probably such remedy is yet unknown. Nevertheless, one contribution for improving the deplorable state of affairs could be the idea of complementary monetary systems. The concept is around since long but has never achieved large-­‐scale breakthrough. This paper is descriptive and aims at introducing the reader to the phenomenon of alternative currency systems, what are they and how do they work. It looks at some theoretical foundations provided by traditional economics, reviews Silvio Gesell’s “Freigeld”, and mentions contributions from philosopher Rudolf Steiner, Bernard Lietaer, and from others. Examples of complementary monetary systems are then examined in detail for making the issue tangible for the reader. The paper takes a closer look at initiatives like: City of Wörgl, “Chiemgauer”, “WIR”, “Terra”, barter trade, loyalty and schemes, “Bitcoin”. The discussion part argues about advantages and potential problems of complementary monetary systems and implicitly questions if alternative currencies can really fulfil the many promises and hopes. However, the paper concludes the that idea of complementary monetary systems merits further examining and practical 2 experimenting, not least because of the tremendous opportunities that the Internet could offer. Introduction The last financial crisis [2007 – 2008] has been damaging worldwide. Many economies and many businesses and private individuals are still suffering from its fiduciary and social impact. “The monoculture of a single type of currency is a root cause of the monetary repeated and financial instabilities”, whereof the IMF [International Monetary Fund] has report ed 425 systemic, finance related, crises in the last four decades i.e. “an average of more than 10 countries in crises each and every year” (Lietaer & Dunne, 2013). Need for systemic changes have since become dramatically obvious and the search of remedy revives ‘dormant’ concepts. One promising idea seems enjoying e gr ater attention amongst innovative, alternative and socially oriented groups in society: complementary monetary systems. As it will be shown, it is not a totally new idea. More than 4’000 unofficial, private currencies rational are ope in the world today (Lietaer & Dunne, 2013). The new rise of ‘competing’ currencies scratches on the monopoly of state currencies. Alternative or complementary tary mone systems and schemes are sometimes called local exchange trading s system [LETS], social purpose currency, Internet ‘cryptocurrencies’ or for short local, cooperative or community currencies. It is a sort of para social-­‐banking activity that is performed by private associations. Their task is issuing and controlling circulation of a standardised alternative private currenc y. The unit of account of a complementary monetary system takes many different forms such as vouchers, value points, loyalty bonus, fiat money, token for barters, virtual Internet money, time credit s, certificate etc. These types of currency are accepted as means of payment by businesses, merchants, and private individuals that are members of the currency network. Its extension is usually limited to a relatively small region of a national state. The exceptions are: “WIR” that is exchanged all over Switzerland, the “Terra” that is proposed as a global scheme, and, of course, Internet based virtual money that is unlimited in 3 its geographic reach. Most alternative money systems are not -­‐ backed up, and are, as it is the case with conventional money, first r of all a matte of trust. Money, being it complementary or official, has no material value, and it is thus nothing ‘real’. As long as the trust in the money lasts, as long can a holder of money be certain that he will find someone who converts his bill, coin or fiat money, into real goods and services. The aim of localised alternative monetary systems is to retain buying power and money circulation in the region, thus rs bonding consume to local producers , and over time, creating economic wealth for the region. Complementary currency systems shall support local and regional industrial art, trade, manufacturing, and services. They shall eliminate profit-­‐making intermediaries, are thought to support economic prosperity, help to protect social freedom and . peace All these aspirations shall lead to increased quality of life. As it will be shown in this text, complementary monetary systems are designed to support the real economy, not the financial markets, and they are certainly not meant for profit making i.e. ‘making money from money’. A complementary private currency exists additionally and alternatively to the official national monetary system, which controlled is by the l centra bank together with the banking system as a whole. Acceptance of the alternative currency can be enforced neither by the holder nor by the issuer of that money. It is used as a medium of exchange and unit of . account It is not thought to be a store of value, on the , contrary many complementary currency systems discourage money hoarding. This is because negative interest is charged on deposits and the value of money depreciates over time. This process is usually called ‘demurrage’. These particularities shall help to increase the velocity of money and thus create economic prosperity, instead influencing of the economy by activating monetary instruments. For example by increasing the amount of money by creating money through the banking system by means of credits and by altering the key interest rate. These are frequently used weapons of the central banks for stimulating the economy and for stabilising the currency. 4 Stakeholders in an alternative currency system are: consumers, companies, small businesses such as local merchants and producers of goods and , services potential beneficiaries of donations from the scheme, and the entity that manages the complementary monetary system. Within this network of participants the currency is voluntarily accepted as means of payment. Local currency systems are characterised by attributes of the social economy e.g.: self-­‐ help, associative -­‐ co operation, ethics, social instead of profit aims, strengthening solidarity within a community, inclusiveness, participation and sharing, self-­‐ governance and independence, democratic decision taking processes, voluntariness and balancing the triple . bottom line That implies to consider the economic, ecological, and ial soc impacts of the activities. The vision of the initiators of a local ernative alt monetary system might be helping building a future that is more apt to the needs of the local community and economically, ecologically and socially more sustainable, and more just than the national monetary ystem s built on debt and interest. A managing entity or operational centre is responsible for the seamless functioning of the , system performs operation and co-­‐ordination, and acts as the governing body of the system. Operation includes activities such as: issuing of the unit of account [money], acquisition of participants, collecting fees, statistics, training, PR and advertising, potential granting of micro credits to its members, and conversion of official currency to alternative money and vice versa. The corporate management unit together with other stakeholders often takes the legal entity of association an or co-­‐operative that governs the whole currency system. This entity does usually not possess t a bank licence bu might seek co-­‐ operation with local banks for e.g. managing credits and current . accounts In the case of ‘cryptocurrencies’ management entities and operational centres are redundant. These virtual currencies are pure peer-­‐to-­‐peer systems, as it will be discussed later. The cost of the association for managing and orchestrating the scheme is usually covered by registration and turnover levied fees from the participating shops, producers, and other accepters of the alternative money. Standard are charges 5 on the transactions as well as conversion fees in case the local currency is exchanged to the national currency. To offset the potentially built -­‐in value depreciation of the alternative money, the wner o can pay a fee [demurrage] in order to maintain the nominal value of the money. Some schemes, e.g. the “Chiemgauer” system, use income from demurrage to make donations to local charities. An example of a well-­‐known self-­‐help complementary currency system is the “Palmas” in Brazil (banco palmas). Another example is communities that installed barter trade systems based on time credits. Such schemes are sometimes called ‘time banks’ and ‘time Dollars’, because
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Monetary Policy in a World of Cryptocurrencies∗
    Monetary Policy in a World of Cryptocurrencies Pierpaolo Benigno University of Bern March 17, 2021 Abstract Can currency competition affect central banks’control of interest rates and prices? Yes, it can. In a two-currency world with competing cash (material or digital), the growth rate of the cryptocurrency sets an upper bound on the nominal interest rate and the attainable inflation rate, if the government cur- rency is to retain its role as medium of exchange. In any case, the government has full control of the inflation rate. With an interest-bearing digital currency, equilibria in which government currency loses medium-of-exchange property are ruled out. This benefit comes at the cost of relinquishing control over the inflation rate. I am grateful to Giorgio Primiceri for useful comments, Marco Bassetto for insightful discussion at the NBER Monetary Economics Meeting and Roger Meservey for professional editing. In recent years cryptocurrencies have attracted the attention of consumers, media and policymakers.1 Cryptocurrencies are digital currencies, not physically minted. Monetary history offers other examples of uncoined money. For centuries, since Charlemagne, an “imaginary” money existed but served only as unit of account and never as, unlike today’s cryptocurrencies, medium of exchange.2 Nor is the coexistence of multiple currencies within the borders of the same nation a recent phe- nomenon. Medieval Europe was characterized by the presence of multiple media of exchange of different metallic content.3 More recently, some nations contended with dollarization or eurization.4 However, the landscape in which digital currencies are now emerging is quite peculiar: they have appeared within nations dominated by a single fiat currency just as central banks have succeeded in controlling the value of their currencies and taming inflation.
    [Show full text]
  • Complementary Currencies: Mutual Credit Currency Systems and the Challenge of Globalization
    Complementary Currencies: Mutual Credit Currency Systems and the Challenge of Globalization Clare Lascelles1 Abstract Complementary currencies—currencies operating alongside the official currency—have taken many forms throughout the last century or so. While their existence has a rich history, complementary currencies are increasingly viewed as anachronistic in a world where the forces of globalization promote further integration between economies and societies. Even so, towns across the globe have recently witnessed the introduction of complementary currencies in their region, which connotes a renewed emphasis on local identity. This paper explores the rationale behind the modern-day adoption of complementary currencies in a globalized system. I. Introduction Coined money has two sides: heads and tails. ‘Heads’ represents the state authority that issued the coin, while ‘tails’ displays the value of the coin as a medium of exchange. This duality—the “product of social organization both from the top down (‘states’) and from the bottom up (‘markets’)”—reveals the coin as “both a token of authority and a commodity with a price” (Hart, 1986). Yet, even as side ‘heads’ reminds us of the central authority that underwrote the coin, currency can exist outside state control. Indeed, as globalization exerts pressure toward financial integration, complementary currencies—currencies existing alongside the official currency—have become common in small towns and regions. This paper examines the rationale behind complementary currencies, with a focus on mutual credit currency, and concludes that the modern-day adoption of complementary currencies can be attributed to the depersonalizing force of globalization. II. Literature Review Money is certainly not a topic unstudied.
    [Show full text]
  • What the Return of Private Currencies Could Mean for Central Banks by Susan E
    FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF KANSAS CITY | JUNE 30, 2021 Déjà Vu All Over Again: What the Return of Private Currencies Could Mean for Central Banks By Susan E. Zubradt and Jesse Leigh Maniff Private digital currencies, or “crypto-assets,” have surged in popularity recently, but they are not new to the payments landscape and may present familiar challenges for central banks. Although they have yet to fulfill the main functions of money, crypto-assets still have the potential to affect financial stability and the implementation of monetary policy. The recent revival of private digital currencies has captured the imagination of those who envision a world where value can be transferred as seamlessly as information. Many individuals across a range of industries, from government to payments to finance, wonder whether private digital currencies may somehow sideline fiat money—the government-issued money that, coupled with reserves at central bank accounts, underpins the global financial system. In this article, we review the history of private currencies, reevaluate whether present private digital currencies satisfy the functions of money, and discuss the implications that “crypto-assets”—whether considered money or not—may have for monetary policy and financial stability. Historical Perspective Private currencies based on commodities have existed for millennia. Since around the sixth century B.C.E, commodity money has been the predominate monetary system (Velde 1998). Metal coins were a useful early means of payment to facilitate everyday transactions. Over time, paper currency, issued by a private entity and backed by a commodity such as gold, became the norm for money in circulation.
    [Show full text]
  • The Nature of Decentralized Virtual Currencies: Benefits, Risks and Regulations
    MILE 14 Thesis | Fall 2014 The Nature of Decentralized Virtual Currencies: Benefits, Risks and Regulations. Paul du Plessis Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Kern Alexander 1 DECLARATION This master thesis has been written in partial fulfilment of the Master of International Law and Economics Programme at the World Trade Institute. The ideas and opinions expressed in this paper are made independently, represent my own views and are based on my own research. I confirm that this work is my own and has not been submitted for academic credit in any other subject or course. I have acknowledged all material and sources used in this paper. I understand that my thesis may be made available in the World Trade Institute library. 2 ABSTRACT Virtual currency schemes have proliferated in recent years and have become a focal point of media and regulators. The objective of this paper is to provide a description of the technical nature of Bitcoin and the reason for its existence. With an understanding of the basic workings of this new payment system, we can draw comparisons to fiat currency, analyze the associated risks and benefits, and effectively discusses the current regulatory framework. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1. Introduction .............................................................................................. 4 2. The Evolution of Money .......................................................................... 6 2.1. Defining Money ................................................................................. 6 2.2. The Origin of Money ........................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Complementary Currencies: an Analysis of the Creation Process Based on Sustainable Local Development Principles
    sustainability Article Complementary Currencies: An Analysis of the Creation Process Based on Sustainable Local Development Principles Francisco Javier García-Corral 1,* , Jaime de Pablo-Valenciano 2 , Juan Milán-García 2 and José Antonio Cordero-García 3 1 Research Group: Almeria Group of Applied Economy (SEJ-147), University of Almeria, 04120 Almeria, Spain 2 Department of Business and Economics, Applied Economic Area, University of Almeria, 04120 Almeria, Spain; [email protected] (J.d.P.-V.); [email protected] (J.M.-G.) 3 Department of Law, Financial and Tax Law, University of Almeria, 04120 Almeria, Spain; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 1 July 2020; Accepted: 13 July 2020; Published: 15 July 2020 Abstract: Complementary currencies are a reality and are being applied both globally and locally. The aim of this article is to explain the viability of this type of currency and its application in local development, in this case, in a rural mountain municipality in the province of Almería (Spain) called Almócita. The Plus, Minus, Interesting (PMI); “Flying Balloon”; and Strength, Weakness, Opportunity (SWOT) analysis methodologies will be used to carry out the study. Finally, a ranking of success factors will be carried out with a brainstorming exercise. As to the results, there are, a priori, more advantages than disadvantages of implementing these currencies, but the local population has clarified that their main concern is depopulation along with a lack of varied work. As a counterpart to this and strengths or advantages, almost all the participants mention the support from the Almócita city council and the initiatives that are constantly being promoted.
    [Show full text]
  • The Future of Money: How New Currencies Create Wealth, Work and a Wiser World
    The Future of Money © Bernard Lietaer March 1999 The Future of Money: How New Currencies Create Wealth, Work and a Wiser World (Book #2 - US Version) June 1999 Copyright by Bernard A. Lietaer 1 The Future of Money © Bernard Lietaer March 1999 • The Information Age has already spawned new kinds of currencies: frequent flyer miles are evolving toward a “corporate scrip” ( a private currency issued by a corporation) for the traveling elite; a giant corporation you never heard of is issuing its own “Netmarket Cash” for Internet commerce; even Alan Greenspan, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, foresees “new private currency markets in the 21st century.” • 2,600 local communities in the world, including over a hundred in the US, are now issuing their own currency, independently from the national money system. Some communities, like in Ithaca, New York, issue paper currency; others in Canada, Australia, the UK or France issue complementary electronic money. 2 The Future of Money © Bernard Lietaer March 1999 TABLE OF CONTENTS [New Numbering] TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 PART TWO: CHOOSING YOUR FUTURE OF MONEY 6 Chapter by Chapter Outline 9 CHAPTER 5: WORK-ENABLING CURRENCIES 11 An Important Distinction 12 The Connection to Public Health 13 The Money Connection 13 Unemployed? Who? Me? 14 Today’s Job Problem 14 The Age of Downsizing 16 Economic Consequences 19 Keynes’ Foresight 21 Socio-Political Consequences 22 Case Studies 26 Traditional Solutions 27 Neither Left, nor Right, but Forward? 34 The Path not Taken in the 1930s 38 1930’s Problems: Some Differences and Parallels 39 1930s Solutions 39 The German Wara System 42 Wörgl Stamp Script 45 US Depression Scrips 47 Some Political Lessons 50 Today’s systems 53 Clarifying Some Distinctions 54 LETS 56 WIR 62 Regional Development Currencies 65 Financing Small Businesses 69 Local Loyalty Schemes 70 Conclusion: Complementary Currencies as “Early Prototypes”.
    [Show full text]
  • Public and Private Currency Competition
    Public and Private Currency Competition James Bullard President and CEO Central Bank Research Association 2019 Annual Meeting Columbia University and Federal Reserve Bank of New York July 19, 2019 New York, N.Y. Any opinions expressed here are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Federal Open Market Committee. 1 Introduction 2 Some published monetary theory • I am a policymaker, but I am also a research economist who has contributed to the literature on “private money.”* • I will give some of my views based selectively on this literature along with other observations.† • The exact results from this math-econ literature are model-dependent and so require some interpretation to be understood in a policymaking context. * C. Azariadis, J. Bullard and B.D. Smith, “Private and Public Circulating Liabilities,” Journal of Economic Theory, July 2001, 99(1-2), 59-116; J. Bullard and B.D. Smith, “The Value of Inside and Outside Money,” Journal of Monetary Economics, March 2003, 50(2), 389-417. † This talk is closely related to J. Bullard, “Non-Uniform Currencies and Exchange Rate Chaos,” remarks presented at CoinDesk, Consensus 2018, New York, N.Y., May 14, 2018. 3 Key themes in this talk • The literature suggests that public and private currencies can compete and co-exist as part of an equilibrium. • Cryptocurrencies are creating drift toward a non-uniform currency in the U.S., a state of affairs that has existed historically but was disliked and eventually replaced. • The international monetary system features non-uniform currency arrangements, but the volatile exchange rates that characterize the system have long been criticized.
    [Show full text]
  • Digital Currency Runs
    Digital Currency Runs David Skeie1 Warwick Business School March 15, 2020 Abstract Digital currency created by the private sector, such as bitcoin, is designed to have a determined supply and enable payments with the premise of competing with and supplanting central bank fiat money and the banking system. Cen- tral banks are developing fiat public digital currency and banks are innovating in response. This paper shows that private digital currency may be preferred over fiat money in countries with high inflation, but using it outside of the banking system reduces investment. Banks can re-emerge by taking deposits and lending in private digital currency to increase investment while avoiding inflationary fiat money, but these banks risk having withdrawal runs into the digital currency. A globally used private digital currency acts similar to a tra- ditional hard currency within developing countries by eliminating fiat inflation but exacerbating bank fragility. A regionally used altcoin is superior to a global digital currency and other hard currencies by limiting inflationwhile alleviating macroeconomic shocks and bank runs. Keywords: Digital currency, cryptocurrency, central bank digital currency, fiat money, bank runs, inflation, investment JEL Classification: G21, G01, E42, E58 1 Professor of Finance, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, [email protected]. I am grateful for very helpful comments and conversations with Franklin Allen, Patrick Bolton, Christa Bouwman, Anna Cororaton, Hyunsoo Doh, Darrell Duffi e, Rod Garrat, Mattia Girotti, Anna Grodecka-Messi, Zhiguo He, Hagen Kim, Aaron Pancost, Kasper Roszbach, Fahad Saleh, Sorin Sorescu, Elu von Thadden, David Yermack, Wolf Wagner and Zizi Zeng, and from audiences in seminars at Bank of Canada, BI, Cass, McGill, NHH, Norges Bank, QMUL, Texas A&M, Utrecht and Warwick, and conferences at Bristol, Cambridge, FIRS, Lancaster, Limoges, Lisbon, Lund, MFA, Nova SBE, Rawls and Southampton.
    [Show full text]
  • The Rise of E-Money and Virtual Currencies Re-Discovering the Meaning of Money from a Legal Perspective June 2018 Table of Contents
    The Rise of e-Money and Virtual Currencies Re-discovering the meaning of money from a legal perspective June 2018 Table of contents Table of contents 2 Introduction 3 Defining money 4 A brief history 4 Money as more than currency 4 Does money have to be ‘legal tender’? 5 Money, sovereignty and a legal framework 6 But what about when the government fails? 7 e-Money 8 Claims on the issuer: e-Money, 8 bank deposits and fiat currency Can e-Money be ‘money’? 8 Understanding money as a debt 9 Debt, damages and breach of duty 10 e-Money in context 10 Regulatory treatment of e-Money 11 Virtual currencies 13 New and old challenges to 13 the meaning of money What are virtual currencies 13 Currency or commodity? 13 Private money 14 Central bank digital currencies – 15 coming back full circle Key contacts 16 Where we work 17 1 The Rise of e-Money and Virtual Currencies – Re-discovering the meaning of money from a legal perspective The Rise of e-Money and Virtual Currencies – Re-discovering the meaning of money from a legal perspective 2 Introduction Defining money Cryptocurrencies, digital coins, tokens, blockchain – In the next section on e-Money, we concentrate on money’s A brief history Money as more than currency whether you are a student trying to figure out how to save role in discharging obligations. In other words, money as One of the most common (economic) definitions of money is Money does not necessarily mean only physical currency the salary from your first job, a café accepting payments debt.
    [Show full text]
  • The Evolution of Money
    THE EVOLUTION OF MONEY From Commodity Money to E-Money by Susanne König UNICERT IV Program July 6th, 2001 1 THE EVOLUTION OF MONEY From Commoditiy Money to E-Money by Susanne König Abstract By exploring the history of money, this paper describes the transition from former commodity money to today’s electronic money. After introducing the properties of money the development of payment systems is outlined. Additionally, it is indicated why innovations of current payment technologies are tremendously important with respect to economic aspects such as electronic commerce. Key words • E-money • Money • Payment systems 2 1. Introduction In our world today, money is high-tech. People not only use coins and dollar bills issued by the government as money, but also increasingly cheques and credit cards. Banks are able to move millions of dollars by touching only one button on their computers. Money has always been important to people and to the economy. Many economists, like Keynes (Skidelsky, 2000, pp.110,112), have dealt with the question of money already. The forms money has taken on over centuries have always been closely connected with the technological developments in the economy. As simple economies evolved into more complicated economies, money has always adapted to the different economic circumstances. With respect to the latest innovations in the computer industry a new form of money has evolved: e-money. This paper describes the transition from traditional government money to privately issued electronic money. It examines the current innovations in the payment technologies by exploring how today’s forms of money have evolved over time.
    [Show full text]
  • Digital Currency
    THE FUTURE OF MONEY: DIGITAL CURRENCY HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON MONETARY POLICY AND TRADE OF THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCIAL SERVICES U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION JULY 18, 2018 Printed for the use of the Committee on Financial Services Serial No. 115–111 ( U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 31–510 PDF WASHINGTON : 2018 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:37 Nov 15, 2018 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 G:\GPO PRINTING\DOCS\115TH HEARINGS - 2ND SESSION 2018\2018-07-18 MPT DIGIT nshattuck on FSR297 with DISTILLER HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FINANCIAL SERVICES JEB HENSARLING, Texas, Chairman PATRICK T. MCHENRY, North Carolina, MAXINE WATERS, California, Ranking Vice Chairman Member PETER T. KING, New York CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York EDWARD R. ROYCE, California NYDIA M. VELA´ ZQUEZ, New York FRANK D. LUCAS, Oklahoma BRAD SHERMAN, California STEVAN PEARCE, New Mexico GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York BILL POSEY, Florida MICHAEL E. CAPUANO, Massachusetts BLAINE LUETKEMEYER, Missouri WM. LACY CLAY, Missouri BILL HUIZENGA, Michigan STEPHEN F. LYNCH, Massachusetts SEAN P. DUFFY, Wisconsin DAVID SCOTT, Georgia STEVE STIVERS, Ohio AL GREEN, Texas RANDY HULTGREN, Illinois EMANUEL CLEAVER, Missouri DENNIS A. ROSS, Florida GWEN MOORE, Wisconsin ROBERT PITTENGER, North Carolina KEITH ELLISON, Minnesota ANN WAGNER, Missouri ED PERLMUTTER, Colorado ANDY BARR, Kentucky JAMES A. HIMES, Connecticut KEITH J. ROTHFUS, Pennsylvania BILL FOSTER, Illinois LUKE MESSER, Indiana DANIEL T. KILDEE, Michigan SCOTT TIPTON, Colorado JOHN K. DELANEY, Maryland ROGER WILLIAMS, Texas KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona BRUCE POLIQUIN, Maine JOYCE BEATTY, Ohio MIA LOVE, Utah DENNY HECK, Washington FRENCH HILL, Arkansas JUAN VARGAS, California TOM EMMER, Minnesota JOSH GOTTHEIMER, New Jersey LEE M.
    [Show full text]
  • Currencies, Money and Digital Tokens 30Th Anniversary of the WWZ and VBÖ, University of Basel
    Speech Embargo 5 September 2019, 6.00 pm Currencies, money and digital tokens 30th anniversary of the WWZ and VBÖ, University of Basel Thomas J. Jordan* Chairman of the Governing Board Swiss National Bank Basel, 5 September 2019 © Swiss National Bank, Zurich, 2019 (speech given in German) * The speaker would like to thank Oliver Sigrist for his support in preparing this speech. He also thanks Simone Auer, Nicolas Cuche-Curti, Matthias Gubler, Christoph Hirter, Carlos Lenz and Alexander Perruchoud, as well as SNB Language Services. Page 1/7 Ladies and gentlemen It is a great pleasure, and an honour, to be invited to speak to you today, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the University of Basel’s Faculty of Business and Economics (WWZ) and the Vereinigung Basler Ökonomen (VBÖ). I congratulate you wholeheartedly on reaching this milestone. There is a long-standing and close association between the Swiss National Bank (SNB), on the one hand, and the WWZ and the University of Basel on the other. Many SNB economists were trained here and some of our staff regularly give lectures at the WWZ. I would like to thank the University of Basel and the organisers for inviting me to this special event. I am sure that the ties between our institutions will continue to be close for many years to come. For central bankers, Basel is a special place. We regularly meet with our counterparts from all over the world at the headquarters of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), not far from the WWZ, to discuss the challenges facing us.
    [Show full text]