, then, are the lessons that need to be learned from the crisis – some of which have, in fact, already been taken on board. thanks to basel iii, banks are required to hold better - quality capital in far greater amounts. that gives them a buffer to use in case they run into difficulties. and more of their owners ’ money is at stake because regulators have strengthened the liability principle, which is that whoever reaps the benefits must also bear the liability. the new resolution regimes are designed to ensure that banks can ultimately exit the market without triggering turmoil in the financial system. furthermore, banking supervision and regulation were expanded to include macroprudential policy. by taking a system - wide perspective, macroprudential monitoring focuses not least on the interconnectedness of financial players, which could serve as a conduit for contagion effects. so as you can see, some important lessons were learned from the financial crisis. but in this regard, the acid test for monetary policy is still to come. i believe the answer here is to ensure that monetary policy has a symmetrical effect over the whole of the economic cycle : in a downturn, policymakers must respond vigorously, but in an upswing, they must also be able to tighten the reins again as needed – regardless of the impact this might have on governments ’ funding costs, for example. monetary policy should have a stabilising effect similar to that of a cruise control system that keeps a vehicle moving at a constant speed. when driving uphill, the power of the engine is increased so the vehicle does not slow to a crawl. as the road flattens out, the power must also be reduced. and on a downhill stretch, the car might need slowing down to stop it from going faster and faster. the euro area hasn ’ t quite finished the uphill climb just yet. admittedly, the economy as a whole has experienced five years of uninterrupted growth and the latest unemployment rate, at 8. 1 %, is substantially lower than the pre - crisis average of 8. 7 %. but domestic price pressures are still subdued, which is why monetary policy remains extremely expansionary. however, in the latest forecast from the ecb, experts anticipate that capacity utilisation in the economy will continue to increase in the next two years on the back of the robust upswing and its driving forces. core 2 / 6 bis central bankers'speeches inflation in the euro area, which strips out

the effectiveness of our toolbox lies in our ability to discern the most appropriate tool for each situation – every challenge may demand a tailored response to navigate the complexities of the financial landscape. just as a skilled craftsperson carefully selects tools for each task, we must approach our financial challenges with equal care. let me conclude my speech by going back to our clint eastwood film and its closing scenes – please excuse the spoiler : the young man inherits the grumpy man's beloved car, a ford gran torino, but only under the condition that he takes good care of it and does not mess it up with extravagant modifications. we also have the responsibility of taking good care of our clearing system, our " gran torino ". with this in mind, let me wish you safe travels through the evolving landscape of financial markets. thank you very much for your attention. 1 financial resources and tools for central counterparty resolution : consultation report - financial stability board ( fsb. org ) 2 a vice grip, a roll of duct tape, and a lubricant spray ( wd - 40 ). 4 / 5 bis - central bankers'speeches 3 transparency and responsiveness of initial margin in centrally cleared markets : review and policy proposals ( bis. org ) and streamlining variation margin in centrally cleared markets – examples of effective practices ( bis. org ). 4 as pointed out for instance in the bcbs - cpmi - iosco 2022 report on margin practices / / report on margins : review of margining practices ( bis. org ) and the 2024 report on " transparency and responsiveness of initial margin in centrally cleared markets : review and policy proposals ( bis. org ) " 5 / 5 bis - central bankers'speeches