in the banking sector compared to other segments of the financial system. this is due to the fact that the capital markets are still underdeveloped in see countries, with the banking sector dominating the financial system in these countries. accordingly, both the national authorities and the foreign providers of technical assistance place more emphasis on regulatory and supervisory reform in the banking sector. [ bulgaria and romania have nevertheless made progress toward harmonization with eu regulations on capital markets. ] meanwhile, in all see countries except turkey, foreign banks, mainly from eu countries, have acquired, through their subsidiaries and branch networks, a dominant position in local banking systems. this development has increased competition, facilitated the transfer of expertise especially in credit assessment and risk management and enhanced the ability of local banking systems to operate under more demanding supervisory standards. in contrast with the banking sector, the insurance sector in see countries is still underdeveloped and tends to be characterized by weak governance and regulation, despite improvements in recent years, mainly in bulgaria and romania in connection with these countries ’ preparation for eu accession. furthermore, reflecting the persisting problems in governance and regulation, the insurance sector in see countries tends to be undercapitalized. in the banking sectors of see counties, it appears that the degree of progress towards achieving international best standards has not been the same in all areas of regulatory and supervisory interest, particularly as regards the implementation and enforcement capabilities of the competent authorities. in a number of countries, assessments on behalf of the european commission and the imf have revealed remaining weaknesses in such fields as anti - money laundering, consolidated supervision of financial conglomerates, implementation of international financial reporting standards ( ifrs ), integrated assessment of risk management systems and the extent of co - operation with foreign supervisors. [ as regards the ifrs, it is worth noting that bulgaria, romania, croatia, and serbia have already implemented these standards for companies and banks, while turkey and albania envisage their implementation by 2008. ] moreover, see countries face important medium - term challenges relating to the effective application of the principles of good corporate governance across the financial sector, the implementation of the basel ii capital adequacy framework and the development of a comprehensive methodology for financial stability assessment, including the design of a macro stresstesting framework, especially for credit risk. although central banks in some see countries have already made progress in financial stability assessment, more work needs to be done and such assessments need to increasingly take into account potential repercussions from regional and wider european

october a virtual event2, bringing together a range of civil society organisations, hosted by president christine lagarde and chief economist philip lane. the event was broadcast live on the internet, while a summary report was published after the listening phase. furthermore, the ecb offered all citizens the opportunity to express their views via the ‘ ecb listens portal ’ to better understand their perspectives on the economy and what they expect from their central bank. on our part, we have scheduled our own listening event entitled ‘ the bank of greece listens ’ in early 2021, with the participation of social partners and with the aim of promoting dialogue on the monetary policy strategy. in closing, i would like to congratulate all those who have made this conference possible. 1 see interview by president christine lagarde on 19 october 2020. 2 ecb listens event ( europa. eu ) 4 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches