October 19, 2026 — The 2026 Bund Summit, themed "Technology, Geopolitics and the Global Economy," is being held in Huangpu District, Shanghai, from October 19 to 22, 2026. Jacob A. Frenkel, former Governor of the Bank of Israel, Honorary Chairman of the G30, and Chairman of the Frenkel-Zuckerman Institute for Global Economics, attended the conference and took part in a roundtable discussion.
Frenkel stated that in different countries, central banks often have multiple policy objectives, which is itself a challenge. How to achieve coordination, enable different policymaking institutions to work with one another, and at the same time uphold the central bank's own statutory responsibilities is a question worth exploring. He emphasized that the primary responsibility of most central banks today is to maintain price stability. He explained that the policy tools available to central banks are designed to achieve price stability; unless price stability is ensured first, other policy objectives will be difficult to achieve, and the institution best positioned to achieve price stability is the central bank.
Frenkel also discussed the ongoing global debate in recent years over the role of data in policy decisions, with attention focused on how to use data most effectively to make high-quality decisions. He noted that in many cases, despite the important role central banks play, policy actions often lag behind changes in circumstances. In hindsight, people often point out that in certain situations central banks allowed inflation to rise faster than desirable and failed to intervene in a timely enough manner — a very important practical and analytical issue closely tied to monetary policy's reliance on data.
He said that if policy decisions depend entirely on data obtained from the market, then by definition policy actions will inevitably lag, because no action will be taken before the data appear. Central banks must be forward-looking and act in advance even when the relevant data have not yet truly emerged — precisely the kind of professional challenge central bank work faces. The role of models is precisely to help central banks anticipate what may happen in the future and even guard in advance against unfavorable developments.
He pointed out that the importance of capital markets has risen significantly over the past few decades. Capital markets bring the future forward into the present through expectations, and market reactions are extremely fast. As markets operate at an accelerating pace, the associated risks also increase. And when risks intensify further, from the perspective of finance and financial markets, beyond risk management and market expectations, there is one most important asset: credibility. The market must believe that the central bank knows what it is doing and can achieve its stated policy objectives.
He also said that any communication contains three elements: the first is the sender of the information, and the second is the receiver of the information; these elements must be mutually coordinated and consistent. If the information itself is not clear enough, if the sender's positioning is not clear enough, or if the receiver cannot accurately understand the information, then the information will be distorted in the transmission process. Therefore, central banks must consider both the sender responsible for conveying policy signals and the receiver who interprets those signals in financial markets.
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