Virtual CCB Executive Briefing: Central Bank Independence
Central Bank Independence: What can central bank do to ensure independence and credibility? Central banks have come under criticism for having adopted financial stability measures (e.g., emergency liquidity assistance that has raised their balance sheets), for having taken an aggressive stance fighting inflation and orchestrate a slowdown in growth, and for having expanded their mandate (e.g., financial inclusion, climate change), to cite a few examples.
SPEAKERS
Patrick Honohan, Ph.D. is a former Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland (2009-2015) and a member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank. He is an honorary economics professor at Trinity College Dublin and a nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Previously, he served as a Senior Advisor at the World Bank, where he led early Financial Sector Assessment Programs (FSAPs) for developing countries.
Athanasios Orphanages Ph.D. is a Professor of Global Economics and Management at MIT Sloan School of Management. He is an Honorary Advisor to the Bank of Japan, a member of the Shadow Open Market Committee, and a Research Fellow at multiple economic research institutes. His work focuses on central banking, finance, and political economy, with extensive publications on these topics.
Before MIT, he served as Governor of the Central Bank of Cyprus (2007-2012) and was a member of the European Central Bank's Governing Council. He has also held senior positions at the Federal Reserve. Orphanides holds degrees in mathematics and economics and a Ph.D. in economics from MIT.
Anthony M. Santomero, Ph.D. is a senior advisor to McKinsey & Company, focusing on financial institutions and risk management. He is the Richard K. Mellon Professor Emeritus of Finance at Wharton and serves on the boards of Citicorp, Citibank, Renaissance Reinsurance, Penn Mutual Life Insurance, and Columbia Funds.
Previously, Dr. Santomero was the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia (2000-2006) and held various roles at Wharton, including deputy dean. He holds degrees in economics from Fordham and Brown, with honorary doctorates from the Stockholm School of Economics and the University of Rome.
Kathleen Stephansen, is GIC Chair Emerita, Senior Economist at Haver Analytics, and Trustee of EQAT Trust Funds. She previously served as Chief Economist for Huawei Technologies and AIG, where she also held roles as Senior Strategist and Global Head of Sovereign Research. Prior to AIG, she was Chief Economist at Aladdin Capital, Head of Global Economic Research at Credit Suisse, and Chief International Economist at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.
Kathleen is a board member of the Global Interdependence Center, Economists for Peace and Security, and a member of Chatham House and the Economic Club of New York.
