[FMC 2024] Policy Session 3: The US Dollar in the International Financial System

As the world's reserve currency, the US dollar plays an important role not only in the US financial system but also in international financial system. In recognition of the US dollar's global importance the Federal Reserve has long acted to support the workings of the international market for US dollars. This support reached a new level with the central bank liquidity swap lines during the global financial crisis and pandemic dash-for-cash. This session will discuss the history of how the US dollar arrived at its role in global markets, the costs and benefits associated with this role, and the extent to which the Federal Reserve is (or should be) the international lender of last resort. It will also touch upon the implications of recent geopolitical developments for the international role of the US dollar.

Moderator: David Wessel, Senior Fellow in Economic Studies and Director, Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy, Brookings Institution
Panelist: Beth Hammack, Cohead of the Global Financing Group, Goldman Sachs
Panelist: Antoine Martin, Member of the Governing Board, Swiss National Bank
Panelist: Robert McCauley, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Global Economic Governance Initiative, Boston University, and Associate, Faculty of History, University of Oxford
Panelist: Fabio Natalucci, Deputy Director, Monetary and Capital Markets, International Monetary Fund

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