The notion that central banks should act as lenders of last resort is not controversial. How best to carry out that responsibility is, however, not widely agreed upon. One view holds that the financial system is inherently fragile, and a central bank should forego other objectives, such as preventing inflation, when financial instability threatens. An alternative view argues that by controlling inflation a central bank will in fact promote financial stability. Anna Schwartz (1988; 1995), for example, contends that financial instability has often been caused by monetary policies that cause fluctuations in the rate of inflation. She argues that monetary policy should focus exclusively on maintaining price stability.