Deputy Governor, Bank Of Canada
Search every verified Toni Gravelle interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. On March 23, 2021, Bank of Canada Deputy Governor Toni Gravelle delivered a speech to the CFA Society Toronto on the Bank's response to market-wide stress during the pandemic. Gravelle described the Bank's actions a year earlier, including increasing the frequency and size of repo operations, lending roughly $200 billion to financial institutions in March and April 2020, and pledging to buy up to $50 billion of provincial bonds and up to $10 billion of corporate bonds. He stated that the Bank's balance sheet had grown to close to $575 billion, more than four times its pre-pandemic level. Gravelle discussed the Bank's approach to quantitative easing, saying that moderating the pace of purchases would mean adding stimulus at a slower pace rather than removing it. He noted that the Bank was building readiness to issue a central bank digital currency but would only consider doing so if there were a sudden drop in cash acceptance or a cryptocurrency became dominant and jeopardized the financial system. Gravelle also stated that the neutral rate of interest was lower than in the past due to demographics and lower productivity, estimating it at around 2.25 percent.
“So a year ago the Bank took unprecedented action to ensure that the financial system could keep functioning normally and that the economy could recover — these goals are intertwined.”
“An essential part of markets working well is liquidity — the ability to buy, sell, lend and borrow with relative ease; think of it as the grease that keeps markets lubricated.”
“We increased the frequency and size of repo operations, peaking at $24 billion per operations and offering funds for longer terms — we lent roughly $200 billion to financial institutions in March and April alone.”
“We pledged to buy up to $50 billion of provincial bonds and up to $10 billion of high-quality corporate bonds to support functioning in those markets.”
On March 23, 2021, Bank of Canada Deputy Governor Toni Gravelle speaks to the CFA Society Toronto about the role of the Bank in responding to market-wide stress. / Le 23 mars 2021, Toni Gravelle, sous-gouverneur à la Banque du Canada, prononce un discours devant la CFA Society Toronto sur le rôle de la Banque face aux tensions généralisées sur les marchés.
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