of development and natural assets. a surplus may be justified by a country ’ s need to have a high level of domestic saving – for example due to an ageing population – but also means that consumption will be held back, thus reducing the demand for other countries ’ exports. however, some underlying problems, such as a too low level of saving linked to a too optimistic view of the future, may be reflected in a weakening of the current account. this can also contribute to generally low interest rates which, in combination with other factors such as shortcomings in the supervision of the financial sector, generate the potential for a financial crisis of the type we have just experienced. the factors that above all led the imbalances to grow in the years before the crisis were above all increased saving in the public sector and the corporate sector in china, together with increased saving in the oil - producing countries. investment, on the other hand, remained at approximately the same level as previously. 8 it appears that the increase in saving exerted a worldwide downward pressure on long - term interest rates, which may have led investors to turn to higher - risk assets in the hunt for higher yields. in the united states, however, saving was low and investment was high partly because of the low interest rates. the low interest rates also stimulated the housing market which, in combination with decades of an china has had a very high investment ratio, but aggregate saving is even higher. bis central bankers ’ speeches expansionary housing policy, led to the build - up of a bubble that eventually burst. many observers therefore believe that the global imbalances were one of the causes of the financial crisis. 9 there are better and worse reasons for current account surpluses and deficits in the 1970s and 1980s, large current account surpluses or deficits were generally regarded as something negative. this period was marked by fixed exchange rates and by the regulation of capital flows across national borders. a deficit was often seen as a sign of an approaching devaluation. however, after the capital markets were deregulated and the exchange rates began to float to a greater extent, the view became more positive. it was assumed that changes in the current accounts reflected an optimal redistribution of the freely - moving capital. in the 2000s, however, we began to hear warnings that, above all, a rapid correction of the imbalances could have serious consequences for the value of the dollar, resulting in rising long - term interest rates, recession and a possible financial

measures proposed last december by france assureurs to ensure that unit - linked policies that are both overpriced and underperforming are more effectively removed from commercial offers. the industry should make a public announcement detailing these measures by next week. european dora regulation published at the end of 2022, whose implementing decrees are currently being drafted, will allow for a better management of cyber risk, which has been particularly significant in recent months. page 8 of 9 france was ranked first in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing by the fatf in its may 2022 assessment report. we must pursue our efforts to remain exemplary and play a leading role at international and european level, in particular in connection with the french bid to host the new european authority ( amla ) in in this area. as regards climate risk, despite major advances in terms of transparency and disclosure standards, the first dedicated stress tests - including the one pioneered by the acpr - showed that preparation for physical and transitional risks could still be improved. as regards the insurance sector, eiopa has conducted a first stress test on european supplementary occupational pension schemes. the acpr has continued its work with insurers to prepare for the next exercise, which will take place in 2023 and whose results will be published in the first half of 2024. lastly, and perhaps most importantly, as a number of recent episodes of market volatility have shown, non - bank finance poses an increasingly important systemic risk and needs to be better regulated, both at the microprudential and macroprudential levels, in order to control leverage and contain liquidity risk. * * * page 9 of 9 we have just celebrated the 25th anniversary of the ecb, and next year we will mark the 10th anniversary of the ssm within the ecb. this is certainly not a time for complacent celebrations ; it remains a time for active vigilance. but these milestones are an opportunity to recognise that, throughout years of severe international crises, the european financial system, and particularly the french one, is increasingly resilient. the acpr is committed to contributing further to this. i will now hand the floor to jean - paul faugere, vice - chairman of the acpr, to speak about the insurance sector. i the slight decrease observed in 2022 results from lower tier 1 capital, which was impacted among other things by the lower valuation of insurance subsidiaries due to the rise in interest rates, compounded with