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International financial institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Bank for International Settlements, are important players in the global financial system. This article provides an overview of the major international financial institutions to which Canada belongs. The paper highlights their activities and the nature of Canada's involvement, including that of the Bank of Canada. Recent initiatives coming out of the Halifax and Lyon Summits to improve the effectiveness of international financial institutions are also noted.

Stephen Murchison reviews the findings of recent Bank of Canada research on the relative merits of inflation targeting and price-level targeting (PLT) for a small open economy, such as Canada's, that is susceptible to large and persistent terms-of-trade shocks.

I know that risk is ever-present in your work, as you fulfill your commitments to the beneficiaries and sponsors of your pension plans. Important risks surround the investment performance of those plans, as well as the value of pension liabilities.

The recent global crisis was characterized by a remarkable intensity in the negative feedback process between financial sector developments and the real economy.

In 2005, the Bank of Canada celebrated its 70th anniversary. Since the Bank opened its doors in March 1935, it has evolved into a national institution at the heart of Canada’s economy. We had a lot to celebrate in 2005—particularly our progress over the past 70 yearsand our continuing contribution to the economic and financial well-being of Canadians.

Remarks by David Longworth, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada to the Canadian Association for Business Economics

The Bank projects that Canadian economic growth will slow to 1.7 per cent this year before rebounding to 2.1 per cent in 2020.

Economic growth in Canada is expected to average 2.1 per cent in 2015 and 2.4 per cent in 2016, with a return to full capacity around the end of 2016.

In this issue of the Financial System Review, the Bank of Canada’s Governing Council judges that the risks to the stability of Canada’s financial system are high and have increased markedly over the past six months, owing primarily to an escalation of the sovereign debt crisis in the euro area and a weaker global economic outlook.

Erratum: The data for Chart 7 on page 8 were plotted incorrectly. See revised chart.

We quantify the effects of large-scale stock purchases by a central bank and compare these to bond purchases. We find that the central bank’s equity purchases would lower the risk and term premiums on stocks and long-term bonds, respectively, and thereby stimulate economic activity.