July 05, 2013

I hope Mark Carney, one of the Financial Stability Board’s old men, listens to Martin Wolf, and gets it.

Sir, Martin Wolf is absolutely right reminding Mark Carney of what I have been reminding Martin Wolf for years, namely that “monetary policy works via the financial system [which if it] malfunctions, monetary policy will either not work or have lethal effects”, “Forward guidance for the Bank of England’s new man”, July 5.

I sincerely hope Mark Carney gets that, because as one the Financial Stability Board’s old men, he has not yet understood that capital requirements for banks based on perceived risk distorts and channels monetary policy the wrong way.

And I also hope Martin Wolf from now on remembers this caveat, when he also keeps pushing us on into unknown territories of fiscal and monetary expansion.

PS. Sir, just to let you know, I am not copying Martin Wolf with this, since he has told me not to send him anything more that has to do with “capital requirements for banks”… as he already knows it all, at least so he thinks.