News

There are three main issues I want to address publicly as I begin my term: the Bank's contribution to good economic performance; the Bank's contribution to promoting financial stability, both nationally and internationally; and the importance of open and frank dialogue with business, labour, and the general public.

This morning, we released our Update to last November's Monetary Policy Report. This Update was completed at the time of the Bank Rate announcement on 23 January. It presents the analysis on which we based our decision to reduce the Bank Rate by 25 basis points.

Today, the Group of Ten released its Report on Financial Sector Consolidation

The Bank of Canada today announced that it is lowering the Bank Rate by one-quarter of one percentage point to 5 3/4 per cent. The operating band for the overnight rate is correspondingly lowered, and the Bank's target for the overnight rate is reduced to 5 1/2 per cent.

In a speech to the Canadian Club of Toronto, Bank of Canada Governor Gordon Thiessen reviewed Canada's economic performance during the 1990s, focusing on the changes that have taken place in our economy and what these changes mean for the future.