risk - based premiums for mortgage refinancing – in a way that does not increase the expected cost to the taxpayer – would allow the fha to help more troubled borrowers. a concern about such an approach is that servicers might refinance only their riskiest borrowers into the fha program. a combination of careful underwriting, the use of risk premiums, and other measures ( for example, a provision that would allow the fha to return a mortgage that quickly re - defaults to the servicer ) could help mitigate that risk. there are, no doubt, tax - related, accounting, and legal obstacles to expanding the use of principal writedowns. for example, investors in different tranches of mortgage - backed securities may not benefit equally, securitized trusts may not be permitted to acquire new equity warrants, and principal writedowns may require a different accounting treatment than interest rate reductions. but just as market participants, with the help of regulators, obtained greater clarity on the use of interest rate freezes through guidelines issued by the american securitization forum, industry and regulator efforts could also help clarify how this alternative type of workout might be effectively applied. federal reserve system efforts i would like to comment briefly on federal reserve system efforts to reduce preventable foreclosures and their costs on borrowers and communities. the federal reserve can help by leveraging three important strengths : our analytical and data resources ; our national presence ; and our history of working closely with lenders, community groups, and other local stakeholders. a major thrust of our efforts is sharing relevant and timely data analysis of mortgage delinquencies with community groups and policymakers to efficiently target resources to areas most in need. for example, we recently assisted neighborworks america in identifying regions and neighborhoods that are at risk of higher rates of foreclosure and could benefit from increased mortgage counseling capacity. on the basis of this analysis, neighborworks recently distributed $ 130 million in newly granted funds from congress to thirty - two state housing finance agencies, eighty - two community - based neighborworks organizations, and sixteen counseling intermediaries around the country. the federal reserve system also is supporting efforts to reach troubled borrowers and to raise awareness in communities about ways to prevent foreclosures. since july, the community affairs groups across the federal reserve system have sponsored or cosponsored more than fifty events related to foreclosures, reaching more than 4, 000 attendees including

michael c bonello : the adaption of the euro welcome address by mr michael c bonello, governor of the central bank of malta,, during the concert held to mark malta's membership to the euro area on saturday, valletta, 12 january 2008. * * * you have joined us here today to mark a major milestone in our country ’ s economic history. during more than two millennia the maltese people have used many different currencies in circumstances most often reflective of malta ’ s status as a dependency of some larger and more powerful nation. the adoption of the euro, however, is a change of currency with a difference. this time it has taken place because malta, out of its own choice, has joined fourteen other sovereign member states of the eu in an economic and monetary union designed to complement the single market, a venture that could rightly be described as an epoch - making development in the history of our continent. for malta, as for the other new members of the euro area, the euro offers the prospect of enhancing the economy ’ s potential to grow faster. the elimination of exchange rate risk and currency conversion costs should result in increased trade, while the low interest rate and inflation environment of the euro area should make for reduced business costs and greater macroeconomic stability. combined with the fiscal discipline associated with monetary union, this should translate into higher credit ratings and improved investment prospects. the significance of having as our own the world ’ s second most important currency is not lost upon a central banker. for, beyond its proven economic benefits, the euro signifies the virtual elimination of the potential risk of an exchange rate crisis to which the currencies of small, open economies are exposed on a daily basis in a world characterized by the free movement of capital. we have now traded in this vulnerability for the greater security and credibility afforded by a major international currency. the euro has indeed been a success story in many respects. the disciplines of economic and monetary union ( emu ) were intended to promote the creation of a macroeconomic environment in which countries could thrive in an increasingly competitive market place. the euro area ’ s track record in terms of price stability, trade expansion and employment creation suggest that these expectations have been largely fulfilled. the central bank of malta is, therefore, proud to have become a member of the eurosystem. from an institution charged with the preservation of price stability in malta and with safeguarding the integrity of our national currency, the bank now shares responsibility with the other members of