our non - standard decisions have been taken in complete independence. that independence is essential. you are the captain of a ship passing through a terrible storm. isn ’ t it dangerous for the euro to have to change its captain right now, because of mandate issues? in the storm the direction is clear : the mandate given by europe ’ s democracies. one has to be permanently alert. the weather has been particularly rough for four years. the crew of the ecb is on deck. the crew does not change. the future president has been on the ship for years. he has shared in all the decisions in a collegial way. he has considerable experience. emerging countries like china could come to the aid of europe via the efsf … in the summit statement there is an increase in the intervention capability of the efsf, thanks to a leveraging effect. in practice, this means that, in addition to european capital, bis central bankers ’ speeches private capital – and possibly public capital – from around the world could invest jointly with the stability fund. they will do it because it will be in their interest of course. do you understand the criticism coming from germany, namely that the ecb had gone too far in its support for states? in our democracies, criticism is natural and necessary. some people in germany and other countries regard our policy as too bold. while other people think of us as being too cautious... we keep the currency for 17 countries, for 332 million fellow citizens, for citizens of all persuasions. we have a course to follow, price stability, and our non - standard decisions since 9 august 2007 – the first global decision in the crisis – have been taken to help us restore a proper implementation of our policy in a crisis without precedent for 65 years. price stability has been ensured since the creation of the euro, but europe ’ s economy has weakened, unemployment has grown... since 1999, prices have increased by 2, 0 % per year. we have done what was demanded of us by europe ’ s democracies. i will add that our fellow citizens, the 332 million people in the euro area, are extremely attached to price stability, particularly the most vulnerable among them. opinion polls show this. with regard to employment, we have created around 14 million jobs in the euro area since the launch of the single currency, compared with around 7 million in the united states. these job creation efforts must be resolutely pursued

market sentiment has taken root and has gathered pace over the last week. this initially appeared closely linked to concerns regarding weakening economic activity around the globe – notably in emerging markets – and to potential adverse signals from falling commodity prices. over time however, market sentiment has become more volatile and susceptible to rapid change. in this environment, stock prices significantly declined and bank equity prices were particularly hit, both globally and in europe. the sharp fall in bank equity prices reflected the sector ’ s higher sensitivity to a weaker - thanbis central bankers ’ speeches expected economic outlook ; it also reflected fears that some parts of the banking sector were exposed to the higher risks in commodity - producing sectors. the bulk of euro area listed banks, although they have relatively limited exposure to emerging markets and commodity producing countries, are currently trading well below their book values. the fall in bank equity prices was amplified by perceptions that banks may have to do more to adjust their business models to the lower growth / lower interest rate environment and to the strengthened international regulatory framework that has been put in place since the crisis. however, we have to acknowledge that the regulatory overhaul since the start of the crisis has laid the foundations for durably increasing the resilience not only of individual institutions but also of the financial system as a whole. banks have built higher and better - quality capital buffers, have reduced leverage and improved their funding profiles. moreover, the basel committee on banking supervision noted that substantial progress has been made towards finalising post - crisis reforms and that the remaining elements of the regulatory reform agenda for global banks are being finalised. the clarification of these elements will provide regulatory certainty on the stability of the future framework. this will support the banking sector ’ s ability to make long term sustainable business plans into the future. in fact, central bank governors and heads of supervision indicated that they are committed to not significantly increase overall capital requirements across the banking sector. in the euro area, the situation in the banking sector now is very different from what it was in 2012. perhaps most importantly, euro area banks have significantly strengthened their capital positions over the past few years, notably as a consequence of the comprehensive assessment conducted in 2014. for significant institutions, the cet1 ratio has increased from around 9 to 13 %, making them more resilient to adverse shocks. in addition, the quality of the banks ’ capital has also been substantially improved. with the 2015 supervisory review and evaluation process ( srep ), the ecb has outlined the steady