Let me now explain briefly the main reasons why the Governing Council chose COOP HIMMELB(L)AU’s design. I am delighted that the architect, Prof. Wolf Prix, and his colleagues, Mr Dreibholz and Mr Halm, have joined us for this press briefing today. The design chosen The Governing Council judged the revised design concept of COOP HIMMELB(L)AU not only to be superior from an overall aesthetic and urban planning perspective, but also to be the one that best met the functional and technical requirements specified by the ECB. It was felt that this expressive, dynamic and appealing design would serve as a unique landmark, and result in the ECB’s new premises having a strong identity. In the Governing Council’s view, this design concept had features that reflected the ECB’s values - in particular, unity and transparency - and translated them into architectural language. Furthermore, the way in which the three elements of the design - the high-rise building of a twisted shape, the “groundscraper” and the Grossmarkthalle - formed a harmonious and well-proportioned ensemble was assessed very positively. We also considered that the integration of the Grossmarkthalle into this ensemble was addressed in an excellent way, while at the same time respecting the fundamental appearance of this historic building. The design concept also met, in principle, the ECB’s functional and spatial requirements. The Governing Council appreciated especially the good connection of the different functional areas and the excellent workplace quality, guaranteeing natural light for all members of staff.

The World Bank Group Singapore Hub, expanded from the initial set up in 2010, draws together the different infrastructure expertise along the transaction chain – firstly, project management of the World Bank; secondly, structuring expertise of the International Financial Corporation (IFC); and thirdly, credit enhancement of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) – to deliver practical project advisory and financing solutions to governments globally. This includes its ongoing efforts to develop a bankable Public-PrivatePartnership (PPP) project pipeline for ASEAN. The Asian Infrastructure Centre of Excellence (AICOE), set up in April this year, would also work with governments to catalyse infrastructure development in Asia, starting with Southeast Asia. Similar to the Singapore Hub, the AICOE will select infrastructure projects based on needs in the region, grow them to a bankable stage, and match these projects with private investors. 17. These efforts will help make infrastructure financing more accessible to a broader group of investors, and help banks to recycle their capital more quickly to other greenfield projects. Transactions can be structured such that institutional investors can, through capital market instruments such as infrastructure projects bonds or securitisation, take over the financing of projects from banks after the construction phase is completed. By facilitating financing to what industry estimates to be USD 300 billion of marginal bankable projects in Asia, these integration efforts will enhance long term growth prospects of Asian economies. 18. One less-talked about area where market integration holds great promise is in insurance.