The Chief Executives' Club at Queen's hosted a Breakfast lecture titled 'Positive Externalities' and a Q&A Session with Martin Taylor, Financial Policy Committee Member with the Bank of England on Thursday 7 February on the main campus at the University.

Mr Taylor's speech encompassed his observations on how a policy-making committee such as the Financial Policy Committee (FPC) best ought to function, particularly in comparison to private-sector boards; as well as his thoughts on how the creation of the FPC has changed the relationship of the Bank to the public sphere.

Mr Taylor expressed his opinion on the differences of private and public sector boards, as well as explaining the advantages one has over the other; "My own view formed over many decades is that the corporate board should principally play a defensive role; it exists above all to prevent catastrophic outcomes. Good governance, and there is plenty of it, passes largely unnoticed, while a board in the wake of a company failure looks like a collection of idiots. In the financial sector, with which the FPC is principally concerned, it is inescapably clear that most boards in the early part of this century did an absolutely shocking job."

You can view the full address here.

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