Speaker: Ben Dyson (Positive Money)

Title: Modernising Money: Why Our Monetary System is Broken and How it Can Be Fixed

Abstract: It's said that money is power. If that's true, should we be concerned that the power to create money rests with the same banks that caused the financial crisis? The Bank of England recently published a paper explaining how banks create 97% of the money we use, in the form of electronic bank deposits, whenever they make new loans. The evidence implies that this process of money creation is linked to rising inequality and poverty, high personal and household debt, economic instability, and the significant power and influence of the banking sector over the democratic process. Fundamental reforms of the process of money creation will be needed if we are to avoid a future financial crisis.

Ben Dyson is the co-author of Modernising Money: Why our monetary system is broken and how it can be fixed. He argues that a design flaw in the banking system, which allows banks to effectively create more than 97% of the money that our economy runs on, is responsible for the financial crisis, unaffordable housing and the government’s reliance on unsustainable debt-fuelled growth. The proposals were recently featured in the Financial Times. He is the founder and Head of Research at Positive Money, a campaign for a banking system that works for society. More information at www.positivemoney.org