However, the implication is that the home supervisor, as the consolidating supervisor, has the overall picture, while the host country has the responsibility. In a crisis, decisions must be taken fast and, typically, based on insufficient and uncertain information. Access to information is thus crucial for effective crisis management. In the present crisis, host countries have had difficulties in obtaining timely information from home country authorities. Considering the importance of information, the frustration of host countries is understandable. However, let me emphasise that the problem of insufficient information flows also goes the other way. Home country authorities have also experienced difficulties in getting accurate information from host authorities. A result of the lack of cooperation has been suboptimal solutions, the breaking up of banks and a move towards nationalistic objectives. Experiences from the crisis prove that it is easy to sign an MoU in good times, but much more difficult to live up to the spirit of that MoU in bad times. Financial integration will continue. The question, then, is how do we improve cross-border crisis management? Part of the problem today is a lack of mutual trust. In bad times, trust is essential for sharing information. Reaching a joint assessment and making efficient decisions often require frank and open-hearted discussions. Such discussions will not take place if the parties do not trust each other. I believe that we must put effort into building trust among authorities. In this respect, the trust shared among the Governors of the Nordic Central Banks can provide inspiration.

The consequences for the macroeconomic outlook are clear: if labour productivity and/or labour input fail to improve, the impending demographic development will lead to slower medium and long-term growth. It is thus all the more important that labour productivity increases. The growth in labour productivity depends primarily on workplace capital and product market success. It would be ill advised, however, to make oversimplified calculations. Neither technological progress nor capital investment are unaffected by demographic aging. While enthusiasm for embracing innovation may decrease with old age, greater experience can enrich human capital. On the one hand, a tighter labour market can be counteracted by shoring up investment. On the other hand, both the savings and the investment rate can decline. If foreign locations become more attractive, the latter is a particularly likely scenario. It is not clear how the overall effect of these interactions would impact overall on growth. These perspectives call for measures that boost both labour productivity and labour input. In a market economy, employers, employees and the self-employed have a number of instruments and options at their disposal to increase labour productivity and labour input. However, there is also room for improvement with regard to the economic conditions within which businesses operate. First, the capacity for innovation in Switzerland should not be allowed to decline. Therefore, policies fostering education and research are called for. Second, Switzerland ought to continue to attract more investment. In other words, domestic investment should become more attractive.