LyrArc Article Gist
Three central bankers at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) advise caution in the exercize of easy money policies. BIS head, Jaime Caruana, former ECB head, Jean-Claude Trichet, and Bank of Japan governor, Masaaki Shirakawa, say prudent steps are needed to ensure that easy money policies give time that is wisely used by financial institutions to improve their balance sheets, and not wasted. This includes improving reserve capital levels, avoiding undue risktaking. Jaime Caruana warned that easy money policies posed the risk that firms could avoid recognizing losses and lead to a new wave of risk taking, resulting in wasting the time that was provided by the central banks to address pressing problems on the balance sheet. The BIS in Basel, Switzerland, was a prominent voice in warning of the dangers of excessive risktaking in the global financial system before the 2008 financial crisis.