, its member states, means that the agreement with the uk should not undermine what we have managed to achieve in europe in the economic field : one of our strongest assets is our single market ; it removes all internal borders and regulatory obstacles to the free movement of goods, capital, services, and persons in the european union. for the sake of consistency, there is one principle in particular to which we have to stick in preparing the agreement between the eu and the uk : in the single market, you cannot separate access and rules. for the financial services industry, this means that you can hardly expect to obtain a european passport if you do not accept the single market's rules. london is and will remain in the future a global financial centre, but the architecture of the european financial system may have to evolve in this regard. we cannot foresee the outcome of the negotiations – which i hope will be in the interest of both parties – but all actors should as of now undertake all the necessary preparations to avoid any potential “ cliffedge ” risk. london will and should probably continue to attract and transform savings from all over the world. in this respect, on a more personal note, allow me to comment on what i read with surprise in some british newspapers last july : i personally never met with the city ’ s special representative to the eu, mr browne, and the banque de france has never wished for brexit to be detrimental to the city of london, and we have friendly and frequent contact with the city of london corporation. but, besides savings from the rest of the world, the savings of the eu - 27 member states will be increasingly handled within the single market, given its significant size and the safety of its page 5 sur 5 rules. this means that we will move towards some degree of “ europeanisation ” for wholesale banks, insurers and asset managers. it is symmetrically the duty of europe and its member countries to be business - friendly and attractive to the financial industry. we should not achieve this by lowering the bar for our common regulations : the ssm, eiopa and esma are duly mobilised to prevent certain entities that keep their resources outside the eu from setting up empty shell corporations in the eu, mere company name plates, to benefit from passporting rights. we should rather be attractive by offering a stable and favourable framework for investors, including infrastructures, labour skills and labour laws, and taxes. there is some fair but positive emulation in this regard.

has considerably enhanced the robustness of banks ; in addition, it ensures better account is now taken of the diverse risks to which banks are exposed, thanks to the introduction of two new liquidity ratios for bank cash levels. but beyond basel iii, we should finalise measures that target non - banks. we must ensure a balance between financing channels. the priority has now shifted from the solvency of banks, which has improved substantially, to the liquidity of the shadow banking sector, particularly funds and asset management companies that are exposed to the risks of sudden panic - driven runs. we have to make sure that this internationally agreed regulatory framework is implemented everywhere with consistency. unilateral deregulation would be nothing less than a lose - lose scenario with serious consequences for the stability of the global financial system – we would be paving the way for the next financial crisis – as well as the competitive landscape for us, british and european banks. as bank of england governor and financial stability board chair mark carney advocated in washington in april, what we need is : “ the combination of robust international standards and greater trust as a consequence of transparent implementation and intensive supervisory cooperation ”. the second risk is related to the protectionist tendencies in the united states, after the election of the president. we, europeans, shoulder - to - shoulder with canada, japan and others elsewhere, must resolutely defend international economic relations based on page 4 sur 5 commonly respected rules and multilateral institutions : their deterioration would dampen world trade and economic activity. iii. our future relationship and brexit. there is one obvious challenge nevertheless that we will have to face together : our future relationship and brexit. a year and a half ago, the british people chose to leave the eu and, even if we regret it, we respect this democratic decision. now we have to work towards reducing uncertainty and the negative impact it may have for the united kingdom and, albeit to a lesser extent, for the european union. the banque de france is not directly involved in the brexit negotiations ; this falls within the remit of governments and the european commission, and more specifically michel barnier, who is conducting this mission with impressive commitment. i sincerely wish that we can achieve a constructive agreement. let me say it loud and clear : no one is seeking to punish the uk in any way and we truly hope to keep the uk as a close partner. but preserving the interests of the eu, its citizens, its businesses