Re-examining central banks' role

The financial crisis that shook the world economy has prompted a re-thinking of central banks' role. Until the crisis, a consensus had developed that central banks should focus on controlling inflation.

In today's ceremony at Los Pinos in which President Calderon created Mexico's Financial Stability Council, Banco de Mexico Governor Agustin Carstens emphasized another of responsibility of central banks: overseeing the stability of the financial system. With the creation of the Financial Stability Council, Mexico is at the vanguard of implementing G-20 initiatives to forestall the repetition of the kind of US-originated financial crisis that rocked the world economy in 2009.