this in turn means also better incentives in banking and hence a more stable financial system. preparations for single supervisory mechanism let me now share with you some recent developments in the single supervisory mechanism ( ssm ). the eu regulation assigning supervisory tasks to the ecb became effective in early november 2013. already well ahead of this time in late summer 2012, the ecb and national supervisors established the high - level group which steered practical preparations to ensure timely adoption of supervisory responsibilities by the ssm. thus we have got a “ flying start ” for the whole project. as a concrete step, the ecb governing council nominated ms daniele nouy for chair of the supervisory board of the new single supervisory mechanism. the heads of directorates, four director generals have been appointed and most of the mid - level managers have been nominated as well. a broader recruitment process of supervisors and analyst is under way and they will join the ecb in waves by the end of the year. the supervisory board had its historical first meeting in january and now on it meets twice a month. at the beginning many of the issues have related to accepting, confirming and further developing the issues prepared by the high - level group. now there is an on - going transition period, during which a comprehensive assessment of significant banks is carried out. during the same period other preparations for the ssm are to be completed. bis central bankers ’ speeches comprehensive assessment the comprehensive assessment of european banks is an essential element of the preparations for the ssm. it should be noted that the ssm regulation also enables the ecb not only to obtain all the relevant information from the national authorities necessary for making the assessment but also to take over direct supervision of any credit institution it deems necessary. this is important to guarantee consistent application of high supervisory standards. the comprehensive assessment has three main goals. first of all, the assessment aims at transparency through enhancing the quality of information available on the condition of banks. its second goal is to repair banks ’ condition by identifying and having the necessary corrective actions implemented where necessary. finally, the comprehensive assessment builds confidence by assuring all relevant stakeholders that banks are fundamentally sound and trustworthy. the ecb will conduct the comprehensive assessment in close cooperation with national authorities, and also with esrb and eba. the ecb will detail the design and strategy of the assessment exercise, monitor its execution, perform quality assurance as well as collect and consolidate the results and finalise and disclose the overall assessment. national supervisors execute the

olli rehn : the european and finnish economies - pursuing growth in the shadow of geopolitical challenges fireside chat by mr olli rehn, governor of the bank of finland, organised by the european american chamber of commerce new york in collaboration with the consulate general of finland, new york city, 19 august 2024. * * * presentation accompanying the speech many thanks to the organisers for the opportunity to speak to this distinguished audience today. great to be back in new york city, on my way to jackson hole! it may be an understatement to say that it's been a volatile fortnight in the global markets. two weeks ago, the global markets, especially the japanese stock market, fell sharply. but the turmoil calmed down fairly quickly, and stock valuations and rates have largely recovered. my take on the events is that they were an overreaction of market forces in conditions of heightened uncertainty and thin market liquidity, and not so much due to issues arising from fundamentals. to european eyes at least, the us economy still remains relatively strong, and the recession scare two weeks ago seems like ancient history – for now. slide 2 : euro area gdp growth is projected to gradually pick up geopolitical uncertainty – especially russia's illegal, brutal war in ukraine and the war in the middle east – continues to affect sentiment in the european and finnish economies. the challenges posed by technology and trade wars further complicate the situation. alas, growth in the euro area this year will be weak, but the ecb's june forecast projects that it will accelerate to 1. 4 % in 2025 and to 1. 6 % in 2026. it is notable that growth is not uniform across the euro area economy. importantly, growth in the german economy – the powerhouse of europe – is lacklustre. the industrial sector in germany and in the entire euro area is characterised by prolonged underperformance and a chronic malaise, and growth relies more and more on services. on the positive side, unemployment has remained low, and the employment and labour market participation rates are higher than before the pandemic. going forward, higher real wages and low unemployment are projected to support growth in europe. slide 3 : euro area inflation has been slowing but there is still a bumpy road ahead for stabilising inflation at the 2 % target inflation in the euro area has been falling, but the road ahead to the ecb's 2 % medium