in reality, it is quite common that applications are changed and amended during the process as a result of ongoing discussions between the supervisor and the applying bank or due to the applying bank having a change of heart due to the emergence of new information. this should by no means come as a surprise. in many ways, both banks and supervisors are in new territory here. and not only businesses have got their hands full managing the fallout from brexit, supervisors do, too. in normal times, the european single supervisory mechanism issues about 10 licenses for credit institutions under the capital requirements regulation ( crr ) per year, plus a couple of licenses issued nationally for entities such as securities trading banks. but in the context of brexit, we are looking at more than 100 financial institutions – many of which are highly significant and complex institutions – currently operating out of the uk that potentially need a new or modified license in the eu. therefore, we have increased our resources both in the european banking supervision and in the national supervisory authorities. however, our capacities are obviously finite. should there be a flood of applications at the very last minute, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to prevent capacity constraints that could prolong the application process. therefore, i strongly advise banks not to slow down in their preparatory efforts because of a vague possibility of a transitional period. the first quarter of this year has been named by many in the financial industry as a point of no return for pushing the button on their brexit contingency plans. in my view, this is still a fair estimate. those who do not complete their plans and start implementing them by march this year risk being left high and dry by brexit one year later. to be clear, this also applies to german and other european institutions that operate in the uk. we have learned that there are institutions that have not yet approached the pra even though they want to maintain their uk business after brexit. 6. what can bank supervisors do? some have voiced the concern that warnings from european officials towards businesses, including financial institutions, currently operating out of the uk to prepare for a hard brexit could be an attempt to lure business and jobs to the eu27. i want to make crystal clear that this is not 4 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches our intention. from the day after the referendum i have repeatedly emphasized that we are not the marketing agency for the city of frankfurt – or any other european financial centre, for that matter.

burkhard balz : central bank digital currencies – the future of money? speech by mr burkhard balz, member of the executive board of the deutsche bundesbank, at the american council on germany, virtual event, 10 february 2021. * * * 1 introduction dear steve, ladies and gentlemen, i am delighted to have the opportunity to talk to you about one of the most exciting topics facing central banks today : the future of money. do we need other forms of money beside the ones we already have? and do we need other forms of central bank money? should banks ’ deposits with the central bank be tokenised? should banknotes become digital? there are many questions surrounding “ central bank digital currencies ” ( cbdc ). and we still have to find the right answers. but one thing is certain : central banks around the world have undertaken tremendous efforts to assess the potential and investigate the opportunities of cbdc. just recently, the bank for international settlement ( bis ) published its third survey amongst central banks worldwide. the survey shows a shift from mainly analytical work towards technical experimentation. more than 60 % of central banks are engaged in practical experimental work. 1 it is clear, then, that even more headway has been made in exploring central bank digital currencies over the past year. on the one hand, the bis predicts that central banks representing a fifth of the world ’ s population will issue a general purpose cbdc in the next three years. on the other, a widespread roll out of cbdcs seems some way off. and there are good reasons for this. because cbdc is a game changer – with potential benefits, but also with a number of challenges. central bank digital currencies promise to combine the improved efficiency of their digital form with the safety provided by a central bank in a single means of payment. however, central bank digital currency would be a third form of central bank money, alongside cash and bank reserves. introducing a new form of central bank money such as this could have profound impact on the financial system, especially if it is not only available to banks, but instead, like cash today, to the general public. if not properly thought through, such an intervention may lead to unintended consequences. today, i would like to outline to you the areas that i believe we need to tackle in order to create a safe, efficient and future - proof currency. but let me start with three trends we are currently