WEBVTT - Christine Lagarde

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<v Speaker 1>When Angela Merkel wanted somebody to lead the European Central Bank,

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<v Speaker 1>she decided to try to recruit the head of the

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<v Speaker 1>i m F, the International Monetary Fund, and she successfully

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<v Speaker 1>recruited Christine Leguard, who is now the head of the

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<v Speaker 1>European Central Bank, the first woman that had the Central Bank,

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<v Speaker 1>but also one of the most influential people in the

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<v Speaker 1>global world of finance. I had a conversation with her

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<v Speaker 1>about how Europe is recovering from COVID and also how

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<v Speaker 1>Europe is recovering from its economic slowdown. So as we

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<v Speaker 1>now look at the post COVID environment, what would you

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<v Speaker 1>say is the situation in Europe. Is Europe recovering more

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<v Speaker 1>rapidly or not quite as rapidly as you thought from

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<v Speaker 1>the COVID uh pandemic. Actually, David, Europe is recovering more

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<v Speaker 1>rapidly than we had anticipated, and we have as a

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<v Speaker 1>result of that, significantly upgraded our projections. So our projection

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<v Speaker 1>fall this year is plus five so it's a significant

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<v Speaker 1>upgrade plus four puscent four point six percent next year

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<v Speaker 1>and back to sort of pre COVID type of growth subsequently.

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<v Speaker 1>But this year is certainly going faster than we had thought,

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<v Speaker 1>to the point where we will have recovered two pre

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<v Speaker 1>COVID nineteen levels before the end of the year one.

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<v Speaker 1>We had anticipated it would be early twenty two at best.

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<v Speaker 1>It's not going to be in twenty one. Well, are

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<v Speaker 1>you worried about the delta variant impacting what you've just

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<v Speaker 1>said or the show called move variant, which is now

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<v Speaker 1>something that's on the horizon. It's it's very closely related.

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<v Speaker 1>We used to say that the best economic policy was

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<v Speaker 1>an accelerated vaccination rollout. Well, we are still in that

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<v Speaker 1>situation where vaccination matters enormously, but on that front, Europe

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<v Speaker 1>has done quite well. We have more than seventy of

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<v Speaker 1>the adult population that is completely vaccinated in the your area,

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<v Speaker 1>and some countries are doing actually better than that. In

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<v Speaker 1>excess of that, that has been a significant boost for

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<v Speaker 1>growth and it has helped governments not go back to

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<v Speaker 1>the stringent containment measures that we had seen previously. So

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<v Speaker 1>during COVID, were you working remotely? I mean, were you

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<v Speaker 1>running the European Central Bank from one of your homes

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<v Speaker 1>or from a home somewhere, or were you really going

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<v Speaker 1>into the office. I spent quite a few weeks stuck

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<v Speaker 1>in my Frankfurt apartment during the first wave of COVID,

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<v Speaker 1>and actually the very sizeable package that we put together

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<v Speaker 1>for monetary policy purposes was engineered around my kitchen table. Subsequently,

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<v Speaker 1>when traveling was more flexible and we could move out,

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<v Speaker 1>then I went to the office a bit. But in

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<v Speaker 1>the main, you know, the the by default solution is

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<v Speaker 1>remote working still today and probably until the end of January,

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<v Speaker 1>and then we will see, well you should take that

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<v Speaker 1>kitchen table move at your office obviously was very productive, right,

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<v Speaker 1>So let me ask you post COVID, do you expect

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<v Speaker 1>Europeans will go back to work at the same levels

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<v Speaker 1>before in terms of coin to work five days a

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<v Speaker 1>week or where people work four days a week, one

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<v Speaker 1>day remotely or just four days a week of work.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, first of all, we should all acknowledge that

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<v Speaker 1>there are people who do not have the luxury of

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<v Speaker 1>choice that have to go to work because their physical

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<v Speaker 1>presence is required. You know, you think about hospital staff,

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<v Speaker 1>you think about construction workers, you think about some people

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<v Speaker 1>working in shops. They don't have the choice. They have

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<v Speaker 1>to be on site and at work and showing up

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<v Speaker 1>in you know, offices. I think we are heading towards

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<v Speaker 1>a hybrid movement where part of the week will be

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<v Speaker 1>spent in the office so that people can meet, can

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<v Speaker 1>see each other, can hold regular meetings, and and have

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<v Speaker 1>face to face contact, but the rest of the week

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<v Speaker 1>will likely be working from home. So whether it's fifty,

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<v Speaker 1>whether it's is up for debate, and it's going to

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<v Speaker 1>be handled at company levels, I suppose, because most of

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<v Speaker 1>the legal constraints have been lifted at this point in time.

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<v Speaker 1>But people have learned during the pandemic and those learnings

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<v Speaker 1>will be bottled in and used for future, for future

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<v Speaker 1>way of working. So around the kitchen table that we

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<v Speaker 1>just made famous, you were talking about you put together

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<v Speaker 1>a package that was designed to make Europe solve their

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<v Speaker 1>economic problems as it dealt with COVID. The United States

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<v Speaker 1>had a similar package. Um in hindsight, would you say

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<v Speaker 1>the package worked as well as you thought, not as

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<v Speaker 1>well or better than you thought. Yeah, you know, when

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<v Speaker 1>we put it together, we we were hopeful that it

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<v Speaker 1>would work. But you you know, the truth of the

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<v Speaker 1>pudding is in the eating, and it was a matter

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<v Speaker 1>of days before we really appreciated that message was received.

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<v Speaker 1>Fiscal authorities began to act in tandem and in good

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<v Speaker 1>coordination as well. And I think the impact of Next

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<v Speaker 1>Generation EU when all Europeans decided to go and borrow

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<v Speaker 1>together jointly, this this, this entire package actually responded well

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<v Speaker 1>and fast and big to the unbelievable crisis situation that

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<v Speaker 1>we faced. So all in all, I think it worked well,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's certainly we responded I think faster and better

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<v Speaker 1>than we had in two thousand and eight and then

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<v Speaker 1>in two thousand eleven in the European sovereign debt crisis.

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<v Speaker 1>In the United States, not just AIG the United States

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<v Speaker 1>all the time, but it's the country I'm most familiar with.

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<v Speaker 1>We've had some challenges during COVID that people who were minorities,

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<v Speaker 1>often women, people of lower income strata, they couldn't get

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<v Speaker 1>access to broadband, they didn't have that, and they had

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<v Speaker 1>childcare problems and so forth, and it's thought that they

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<v Speaker 1>fell further and further behind. Did you find the same

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<v Speaker 1>phenomenon in Europe. Yeah, this has been the case in

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<v Speaker 1>Europe as well, where inequalities in terms of opportunities, in

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<v Speaker 1>terms of facilities have been aggravated and probably exacerbated by

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<v Speaker 1>COVID ninety for the reasons that you've mentioned, those people

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<v Speaker 1>who was hit by pandemic, where women, where young people,

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<v Speaker 1>where people on fixed uman temper contracts, and and those

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<v Speaker 1>you know, we're more remote from work than than the others.

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<v Speaker 1>And if you look at those who lost their jobs,

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<v Speaker 1>it's predominantly those, those women and young people in particular,

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<v Speaker 1>in disproportionate amount relative to the others. So as you

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<v Speaker 1>look at the European economy today, what would you say

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<v Speaker 1>it's single biggest challenges and what would you say it's

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<v Speaker 1>single biggest opportunity is I think the single biggest challenge

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<v Speaker 1>always is to deliver, is to implement. There lots of

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<v Speaker 1>good intentions, but implementation sometimes is hard. I think the

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<v Speaker 1>second difficult area that will need to be tackled is

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<v Speaker 1>this issue of inequality, because COVID nineteen has aggravated inequalities.

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<v Speaker 1>The third one is climate change, where we will have

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<v Speaker 1>to transition probably faster than we think, which will imply

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<v Speaker 1>transition cost, which will imply a change in the overall

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<v Speaker 1>structure of our economies. I would say those three implementation,

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<v Speaker 1>inequality and and climate change. And what has been the

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<v Speaker 1>impact on the European Central Bank or the European economy

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<v Speaker 1>if any on Brexit, has it been as bad as

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<v Speaker 1>some people predicted, or have been better than people thought?

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<v Speaker 1>What would you say? I think the conclusion varies depending

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<v Speaker 1>on which side of the channel you're on. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>from our perspective it it's a sad development and we

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<v Speaker 1>certainly have lost the benefits of excellent cooperation with the

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<v Speaker 1>Bank of England. We try to continue to maintain a

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<v Speaker 1>good relationship because because you know, we have lots of

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<v Speaker 1>links between us. But in terms of trade it has

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<v Speaker 1>been certainly a loss for the UK more so than

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<v Speaker 1>for Europe, and and we'll see how it goes. All

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<v Speaker 1>I can say is at this point in time, Europe

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<v Speaker 1>is coming out of the crisis. Were not with flying

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<v Speaker 1>colors yet because a lot of work needs to be done,

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<v Speaker 1>but strongly than we had expected. I think the UK

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<v Speaker 1>is having a more difficult time at the moment. Part

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<v Speaker 1>of the you help deal with the situation in Europe

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<v Speaker 1>post during COVID was that you had the package that

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<v Speaker 1>you referred to a very large package of financial stability package.

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<v Speaker 1>But that package really involves countries borrowing money against against

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<v Speaker 1>their their own abilities to pay it back. You are

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<v Speaker 1>in effect not a guaranteur, but you are making certain

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<v Speaker 1>that that they probably won't default. But are you worried

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<v Speaker 1>about too much debt among European countries, too much debt

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<v Speaker 1>in France or Germany or Italy or is that not

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<v Speaker 1>a big problem right now? You know? I think all

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<v Speaker 1>countries around the world increase and had to increase the

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<v Speaker 1>debt relative to GDP. And when you had this high

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<v Speaker 1>debt increase and and a big fall in GDP, for

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<v Speaker 1>of course, you end up with those ratios that look

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<v Speaker 1>that look um higher and are higher than what they

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<v Speaker 1>experienced before. But there was no option and no choice

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<v Speaker 1>but to do that. Um how did it not happened?

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<v Speaker 1>I think the story of the pandemic could have been

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<v Speaker 1>a lot worse than what we've seen. So now it's

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<v Speaker 1>a question of directing the the financing to the right investment,

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<v Speaker 1>making sure that the economies are going to bounce back

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<v Speaker 1>in the right shape with the right structural reforms that

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<v Speaker 1>will improve the productivity of those economies, that would position

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<v Speaker 1>them to be more digital and to to be to

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<v Speaker 1>be greener. And I believe that this next Generation EU,

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<v Speaker 1>which was voted a year ago now is going to

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<v Speaker 1>help with making countries better converge and reduce the gap

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<v Speaker 1>that existed between some of the southern European countries and

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<v Speaker 1>the Northern European countries. That is certainly the intention. Recently,

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<v Speaker 1>you said that you would like to have a goal,

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<v Speaker 1>a target of getting two percent inflation. Why has it

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<v Speaker 1>been so difficult to get to that level for the

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<v Speaker 1>last five, six or seven years or so in Europe?

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<v Speaker 1>And how confident are you that you can get to

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<v Speaker 1>two I think there multiple reasons for that, David, But

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<v Speaker 1>certainly what we decided to do was to have a

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<v Speaker 1>target which was simple, which was easy to understand, that

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<v Speaker 1>was a symmetric, and that also was focused on the

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<v Speaker 1>medium terms. So those were the three attributes. So instead

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<v Speaker 1>of having that complicated close to but below two percent,

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<v Speaker 1>which was a bit uncertain and fuzzy, and which included

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<v Speaker 1>somehow an implied biased, we decided that we would go

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<v Speaker 1>for something straightforward simple two percent, two percent symmetric, so

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<v Speaker 1>deviation up or down from two percent are equally undesirable.

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<v Speaker 1>That's the definition that we have agreed upon. And we

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<v Speaker 1>are also on on this medium term, which matters more

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<v Speaker 1>us because we are particularly concerned about inflation expectations. I

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<v Speaker 1>think that's that decision plus the forward guidance that we

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<v Speaker 1>also decided a few weeks after the strategy review of

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<v Speaker 1>the European Central Bank was released, was convincing enough so

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<v Speaker 1>that markets and and analysts and observers have appreciated that

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<v Speaker 1>we are serious women in business. We want two percent.

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<v Speaker 1>Uh And you know, I mean there are lots of

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<v Speaker 1>subtilties around the two percent and the lower band, which

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<v Speaker 1>which leads us to having a more forceful response in

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<v Speaker 1>some instances. But yes, women in business, and we mean

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<v Speaker 1>two percent for sure. So for hundreds of years, governments

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<v Speaker 1>and central banks have issued currency, and the currency is

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<v Speaker 1>used for things to buy things, sell things, and so forth,

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<v Speaker 1>enter price assets. Now some people have come along and

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<v Speaker 1>invented various things called cryptocurrencies. Central banks are trying to

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<v Speaker 1>adjust to what that means for am So do you

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<v Speaker 1>think that cryptocurrencies are a plush for the global economy

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<v Speaker 1>or is it too early to tell? Cryptos are not

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<v Speaker 1>currencies full stop. Cryptos are highly speculative assets that claim

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<v Speaker 1>their fame as currency. Possibly, but they're not. They are not.

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<v Speaker 1>I think we have to distinguish between cryptos that are

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<v Speaker 1>those highly speculatives um suspicious occasionally and high intensity in

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<v Speaker 1>terms of energy consumption assets, but they're not a currency.

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<v Speaker 1>On the other hand, you have those stable coins that

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<v Speaker 1>are beginning to proliferate, which some big texts are trying

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<v Speaker 1>to promote and push along the way, which are a

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<v Speaker 1>different animal and need to be regulated where there has

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<v Speaker 1>to be oversight that corresponds to the business that they

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<v Speaker 1>are actually conduct irrespective of how they um name themselves.

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<v Speaker 1>And in all that, you have the central banks who

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<v Speaker 1>are prompted by demand of customers to produce something that

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<v Speaker 1>will make these the central bank and central bank currencies

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<v Speaker 1>fit for the sanctuary we're in, which is why we're

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<v Speaker 1>not all looking at CBDC central bank digital currencies, so

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<v Speaker 1>that instead of having banknotes and cash in our pockets

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<v Speaker 1>are in our wallet, we can have exactly the same

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<v Speaker 1>thing but in a digital form. So all of us

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<v Speaker 1>are working on this, and certainly I was keen to

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<v Speaker 1>push the CBDC issue on our agenda because I believe

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<v Speaker 1>that we have to stand ready for that. So if

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<v Speaker 1>the ECB, like the Federal Reserve, also looking at it,

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<v Speaker 1>If the ECB were to have a digital currency, would

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<v Speaker 1>that be to the exclusion of paper currencies, or it

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<v Speaker 1>would be up side by side, side by side, because

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<v Speaker 1>we want customers to have their preference. If they still

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<v Speaker 1>want to hold those banknotes and cash, fine, and it

0:15:05.840 --> 0:15:08.960
<v Speaker 1>should continue to be available and a run. You serve

0:15:09.040 --> 0:15:11.360
<v Speaker 1>two terms at the head of the IMF, and you

0:15:11.400 --> 0:15:13.480
<v Speaker 1>could have shared another term if you'd wanted to do so.

0:15:14.320 --> 0:15:16.840
<v Speaker 1>How do you compare the pleasure of running the i

0:15:17.040 --> 0:15:19.840
<v Speaker 1>m F with the pleasure of running a European the

0:15:19.840 --> 0:15:22.720
<v Speaker 1>European Central Bank. Is one more enjoyable than the other,

0:15:22.840 --> 0:15:25.600
<v Speaker 1>or one's less enjoyable than the other, or basically they're

0:15:25.600 --> 0:15:27.840
<v Speaker 1>both great jobs and you're happy you have had both

0:15:27.880 --> 0:15:31.040
<v Speaker 1>of them. Maybe I'm extremely privileged to have had the

0:15:31.120 --> 0:15:33.480
<v Speaker 1>role that I had as head of the IMF, and

0:15:34.000 --> 0:15:36.240
<v Speaker 1>we saw each other quite often in those days, and

0:15:36.560 --> 0:15:39.600
<v Speaker 1>you know how much I put my heart, my brain

0:15:39.840 --> 0:15:43.160
<v Speaker 1>and and my my whole energy into the job, and

0:15:43.160 --> 0:15:46.440
<v Speaker 1>and I've enjoyed it tremendously. I'm doing the same thing

0:15:46.480 --> 0:15:48.400
<v Speaker 1>with the CB, and I'm doing the same thing on

0:15:48.440 --> 0:15:53.200
<v Speaker 1>the European scene. And you know, it's in times when

0:15:53.240 --> 0:15:56.240
<v Speaker 1>you see geo political opposition, in times when you see

0:15:57.120 --> 0:16:01.560
<v Speaker 1>some some energy withdrawn behind im borders. It's important to

0:16:01.640 --> 0:16:05.280
<v Speaker 1>have this this desire to unite and to bring consensus

0:16:05.320 --> 0:16:10.040
<v Speaker 1>to the table and to um you know, convince people

0:16:10.080 --> 0:16:12.680
<v Speaker 1>that what we're doing together united is going to be

0:16:12.880 --> 0:16:15.880
<v Speaker 1>stronger than what we will do individually in our little corner.

0:16:16.000 --> 0:16:18.760
<v Speaker 1>So I'm enjoying what I'm doing as well. It's hard.

0:16:19.080 --> 0:16:22.240
<v Speaker 1>It's hard, let's face it, but but I'm enjoying it well.

0:16:22.240 --> 0:16:23.640
<v Speaker 1>When you were the head of the i m F,

0:16:23.720 --> 0:16:26.920
<v Speaker 1>you were the first woman to hold that position. Now

0:16:27.000 --> 0:16:29.040
<v Speaker 1>you're the first woman to hold the position of the

0:16:29.080 --> 0:16:32.320
<v Speaker 1>head of the European Central Bank, so you've obviously broken

0:16:32.320 --> 0:16:34.600
<v Speaker 1>through in many cases. You also the head of your

0:16:34.680 --> 0:16:37.080
<v Speaker 1>law firm and your first woman that had your law firm,

0:16:37.120 --> 0:16:40.160
<v Speaker 1>a large international law firm. At this point in your life,

0:16:40.200 --> 0:16:43.480
<v Speaker 1>do you feel discrimination against you in your professional life

0:16:43.560 --> 0:16:46.800
<v Speaker 1>as a woman or do you think discrimination generally is

0:16:46.840 --> 0:16:52.440
<v Speaker 1>received against women in the professional workplace. I think discrimination

0:16:52.840 --> 0:16:55.440
<v Speaker 1>has not receded, David, and I'm not I don't want

0:16:55.440 --> 0:17:00.520
<v Speaker 1>to take my personal situation because when you have traveled

0:17:00.560 --> 0:17:04.920
<v Speaker 1>the journey I have traveled, it's difficult to hold open

0:17:04.920 --> 0:17:08.280
<v Speaker 1>discrimination against me. Let's face it, but I'm very very

0:17:08.359 --> 0:17:12.879
<v Speaker 1>much aware of discriminations against many women, many young women,

0:17:13.240 --> 0:17:15.720
<v Speaker 1>many women in all parts of the world. And I'm

0:17:15.760 --> 0:17:18.680
<v Speaker 1>particularly I'm sorry to say, I'm particularly thinking of the

0:17:18.680 --> 0:17:23.800
<v Speaker 1>Afghan woman at the moment, who clearly are suffering the

0:17:23.840 --> 0:17:27.600
<v Speaker 1>worst possible nightmare and sent back in in in the

0:17:27.880 --> 0:17:31.880
<v Speaker 1>in their history and in their life. So it's a

0:17:31.920 --> 0:17:35.400
<v Speaker 1>constant struggle. It should be a constant fight of all

0:17:35.440 --> 0:17:38.439
<v Speaker 1>of us to make sure that everybody has a chance

0:17:39.000 --> 0:17:43.720
<v Speaker 1>to accomplish their talent and to develop they they the

0:17:43.840 --> 0:17:46.320
<v Speaker 1>activity in the way they want. And this is certainly

0:17:46.320 --> 0:17:49.320
<v Speaker 1>not the case yet. And look when I sit at

0:17:49.359 --> 0:17:54.200
<v Speaker 1>my governing council table and I look around, I see

0:17:55.040 --> 0:18:00.399
<v Speaker 1>twenty three men and one woman in add and to me,

0:18:01.240 --> 0:18:03.879
<v Speaker 1>so two to twenty three is not a very good ratio.

0:18:03.960 --> 0:18:07.159
<v Speaker 1>And in the finance world, I don't know whether you

0:18:07.160 --> 0:18:11.960
<v Speaker 1>would call it discrimination, but there is certainly disparity between

0:18:12.160 --> 0:18:15.280
<v Speaker 1>men and women. If you look at the venture capital world,

0:18:15.440 --> 0:18:18.960
<v Speaker 1>it's the same. If you look at CEOs of large

0:18:18.960 --> 0:18:22.240
<v Speaker 1>international banks, it's the same. If you look at Parliament,

0:18:22.760 --> 0:18:25.679
<v Speaker 1>you have a much lower representation of women than they

0:18:25.720 --> 0:18:29.400
<v Speaker 1>all women in society. So something is not working. Now.

0:18:29.520 --> 0:18:33.400
<v Speaker 1>Central bankers are famous for not talking in language that

0:18:33.600 --> 0:18:37.600
<v Speaker 1>the average person can understand generally, and sometimes they've done

0:18:37.600 --> 0:18:40.400
<v Speaker 1>that on purpose. You talk in a language that everybody

0:18:40.440 --> 0:18:43.560
<v Speaker 1>seems to understand. It's very simple and so forth. Is

0:18:43.600 --> 0:18:46.320
<v Speaker 1>that a conscious policy that you have that kind of

0:18:46.359 --> 0:18:52.000
<v Speaker 1>makes what you're doing understandable to the average person. Yes, yes, David,

0:18:52.040 --> 0:18:54.920
<v Speaker 1>I think I think it's it's extremely important that people

0:18:55.000 --> 0:18:58.560
<v Speaker 1>understand what we're doing. A lot has to do with trust.

0:18:59.640 --> 0:19:01.840
<v Speaker 1>If some but it talks to you in a completely

0:19:01.880 --> 0:19:04.919
<v Speaker 1>obscure and jargonic language, how are you going to trust

0:19:04.920 --> 0:19:08.520
<v Speaker 1>that person? So it's it's to me it was critically

0:19:08.560 --> 0:19:12.080
<v Speaker 1>important to agree with the Governing Council members that we

0:19:12.119 --> 0:19:16.119
<v Speaker 1>would communicate in a more understandable, in a clearer and

0:19:16.520 --> 0:19:19.720
<v Speaker 1>simpler way. So, just to give you an example, after

0:19:19.800 --> 0:19:23.840
<v Speaker 1>each Governing Council we issue a monetary policy statement, well,

0:19:23.880 --> 0:19:28.679
<v Speaker 1>we committed to keep sentences short, to have one idea

0:19:28.680 --> 0:19:31.280
<v Speaker 1>of a sentence, to make sure that the you, the

0:19:31.359 --> 0:19:36.080
<v Speaker 1>words that we use are understandable by you, of course,

0:19:36.560 --> 0:19:40.840
<v Speaker 1>but a normal person as well, and uh and and

0:19:40.880 --> 0:19:43.360
<v Speaker 1>we measure that and we try to stick to those

0:19:43.400 --> 0:19:48.080
<v Speaker 1>principles and and will be held accountable. So do you

0:19:48.119 --> 0:19:50.560
<v Speaker 1>think your ability to do that, and the Federal Reserve

0:19:50.680 --> 0:19:53.920
<v Speaker 1>Chairman j pal is interested in that as well. Both

0:19:53.920 --> 0:19:57.000
<v Speaker 1>of you are trained as lawyers, um, so do you

0:19:57.040 --> 0:19:59.440
<v Speaker 1>think that lawyers. I'm trained as a lawyer too. Do

0:19:59.480 --> 0:20:02.159
<v Speaker 1>you think there's a greater future for central bankers to

0:20:02.200 --> 0:20:04.520
<v Speaker 1>be headed by are to be lawyers and there's some

0:20:04.560 --> 0:20:06.960
<v Speaker 1>hope for me to be a central banker someday or not? Really,

0:20:09.200 --> 0:20:13.920
<v Speaker 1>I'm sure you would thrive. And I think I think

0:20:14.240 --> 0:20:17.920
<v Speaker 1>I strongly believe in diversity, David, as you know, and

0:20:18.359 --> 0:20:22.959
<v Speaker 1>the diversity has not all to do with gender, with minority,

0:20:23.280 --> 0:20:27.639
<v Speaker 1>with the sexual orientation or whatever. It also has to

0:20:27.720 --> 0:20:30.920
<v Speaker 1>do with the background, with the training, with the culture

0:20:31.040 --> 0:20:33.360
<v Speaker 1>that you carry with you, and to bring it all

0:20:33.400 --> 0:20:37.360
<v Speaker 1>together around the table with diversity, in my view, improves

0:20:37.400 --> 0:20:40.320
<v Speaker 1>the quality of the decisions that we make. And I

0:20:40.400 --> 0:20:43.840
<v Speaker 1>learned a lot from my colleagues, brilliant economists, and I

0:20:43.880 --> 0:20:47.720
<v Speaker 1>hope they can be patient with us poor lawyers. Two

0:20:47.760 --> 0:20:52.359
<v Speaker 1>final questions. One, I would like to know what is

0:20:52.359 --> 0:20:54.840
<v Speaker 1>the pleasure of being the head of the Central Bank.

0:20:55.200 --> 0:20:57.320
<v Speaker 1>You obviously have to work seven days a week. You

0:20:57.400 --> 0:21:00.240
<v Speaker 1>did that for many years in your career. The map

0:21:00.280 --> 0:21:02.399
<v Speaker 1>as well what is the pleasure you get out of

0:21:02.400 --> 0:21:08.240
<v Speaker 1>heading the European Central Bank? And it's the same kind

0:21:08.240 --> 0:21:12.160
<v Speaker 1>of pleasure that I take in leading other organizations. Is

0:21:12.240 --> 0:21:16.520
<v Speaker 1>making sure that people around me are doing the best

0:21:16.600 --> 0:21:19.679
<v Speaker 1>they can for the organization, are delivering on their mission,

0:21:20.040 --> 0:21:22.960
<v Speaker 1>and that reform a team heading in the same direction,

0:21:23.640 --> 0:21:27.280
<v Speaker 1>so that that to me means an awful lot. So

0:21:27.400 --> 0:21:30.600
<v Speaker 1>my final question is really this, You, as in your youth,

0:21:30.680 --> 0:21:34.800
<v Speaker 1>were a synchronized swimmer where you have to I guess,

0:21:34.880 --> 0:21:38.880
<v Speaker 1>work very closely with teammates and get everything working together

0:21:38.960 --> 0:21:43.000
<v Speaker 1>quite nicely. Um, is it the case that when you're

0:21:43.040 --> 0:21:46.280
<v Speaker 1>you're doing the central banking role you have to have

0:21:46.320 --> 0:21:48.400
<v Speaker 1>the same kind of skill set. You've got all these

0:21:48.400 --> 0:21:50.840
<v Speaker 1>central bankers that are of each country, you have to

0:21:50.880 --> 0:21:53.320
<v Speaker 1>get them to work together. So do you think you're

0:21:53.440 --> 0:21:56.439
<v Speaker 1>synchronized swimming skills actually come to help you as the

0:21:56.480 --> 0:21:59.720
<v Speaker 1>head of the European Central Bank? Yes, they do, actually,

0:22:00.320 --> 0:22:03.760
<v Speaker 1>because what you learn in synchronized swimming is that, uh,

0:22:04.480 --> 0:22:09.359
<v Speaker 1>if each individual is brilliant, it's great, but if they

0:22:09.400 --> 0:22:12.639
<v Speaker 1>don't work together, you will not get the gold medal.

0:22:13.720 --> 0:22:17.359
<v Speaker 1>So working together as a team actually matters enormously. And

0:22:18.280 --> 0:22:21.280
<v Speaker 1>I've tried, and I will try to continue doing so.

0:22:22.240 --> 0:22:24.760
<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening to hear more of my interviews. You

0:22:24.800 --> 0:22:28.920
<v Speaker 1>can subscribe and download my podcast on Spotify, Apple, or

0:22:28.960 --> 0:22:29.760
<v Speaker 1>wherever you listen