directives – yet they have kept on growing in size and complexity. we address and resolve these conundrums through the democratic dialogue ; financial regulation is like any other, it is ultimately a product of a political process. the outcomes of that process are the product of compromise where conflicting interests come into play ; business interest clash with electoral and institutional considerations, where the voice of the supervisor is one among several. today ’ s conference gives this voice more prominence. it brings together some of the most experienced thinkers and policy makers in this area and i would like to thank them all for their participation. i trust they will make this conference useful and stimulating. thank you for your attention. bis central bankers ’ speeches

a need to protect investors. by contrast, the framework for banking regulation grew out of desire to avoid depositors ’ runs. although planned some time ago, this conference could hardly have been more timely. intense regulatory activity here in ireland, in the eu, as well as in global sectoral fora and in the financial stability board ( fsb ), hinges on these very issues. avid readers of our strategic plan know that the effective regulation of financial institutions constitutes one of the eight high level goals set for our institution by the central bank commission. we are doing our very best to deliver that goal. i don ’ t need to remind this distinguished audience that on the 1st of august, the central bank was given enhanced regulatory and bis central bankers ’ speeches enforcement powers. how to use these powers most effectively is an issue at the forefront of our agenda. but the central bank is not the only irish institution addressing the challenge of drawing up effective banking and securities regulation. the irish public authorities have enacted a suite of new legislative acts on the matter. furthermore, ireland has played a major role in pushing forward decisively many large pieces of financial regulation during the course of its presidency of the eu earlier this year. some of this work carried over to the second half of this year, and 2013 will be remembered as a signal year for european financial regulation. on the european front, the european banking authority ( eba ) and the european securities and markets authority ( esma ) regularly bring new or revised guidelines, recommendations, technical standards and other ancillary regulations that complement the directives and eu regulations in an ever increasing flow. in the eurozone, umpteen daily meetings in frankfurt address the questions around setting up the single supervisory mechanism ( ssm ). detailed supervisory manuals are drawn up. organisation structures around the supervisory board are developed and plans are made for the recruitment and training of hundreds of supervisors in frankfurt, picked from 18 countries or more. all these pieces are meant to create an effective international banking supervisor – when so many national ones are seen to have failed. what are the animating principles that underpin this regulatory activity? financial stability is certainly at the top of the list. a century or so ago, after the great war, nations were determined to build the global governance apparatus that would bring enduring peace. so are the financial regulators of today with regard to financial stability. but financial stability has not always been the only objective of financial regulation, or even the central one. not so long ago