Speech Lorenzo Bini Smaghi: The internationalisation of currencies – A central banking perspective

By Banque Centrale Européenne ( Speech by Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB Conference “The euro at 10: The next global currency?” hosted by the Peterson Institute of International Economics and BRUEGEL Washington, 10 October 2008 Introduction [1] Ladies and gentlemen, It is an honour to be here to celebrate the approaching tenth anniversary of the euro. It is a privilege to represent the institution – the European Central Bank – which over the past ten years has watched over the first steps of the euro and brought it up to be the second most important international currency in the world. The euro is now leaving behind its childhood and entering the phase of adolescence. As with many adolescents, it is faced with a common question: “what would you like to do when you grow up?” The ECB, like any... [read full story]