##yb ) or by cancelling scheduled increases to it. in other cases, the systemic risk buffer ( syrb ) or the capital buffers for systemically important institutions were reduced or cancelled. in countries like ours, where the conditions of the financial cycle in the years preceding the outbreak of the pandemic were not such as to justify the build - up of capital buffers, there was less room for manoeuvre. therefore, there is now a need to expand the macroprudential space available to the authorities, with the aim of increasing the amount of capital buffers that can be released in the face of large and disruptive systemic shocks that could go beyond normal cyclical fluctuations. moreover, borrower - based instruments, such as limits on the loan - to - value ratio, should be harmonized, even if only minimally, based on the recommendations already issued by the european systemic risk board. last march, we sent the results of the public consultation to the european commission, publishing them on banca d ’ italia ’ s website as part of the periodic review of macroprudential provisions. it is important that the design, activation and calibration of these instruments remain the responsibility of the national authorities, given the heterogeneity of national credit and real estate markets. within its field of competence, the ecb can at the same time foster their consistent use across countries. the difficult cyclical situation should not induce banks to reduce their efforts to respond to structural challenges, in particular those posed by the ‘ twin ’ green and digital transitions. lowering our guard on these aspects would mean making up for lost time over the next few years, trying to catch up with the competition, rather than anticipating it and adjusting to the new rules. i have often pointed out that it is essential to increase investment in new technologies, innovate products and processes, and upgrade the skills of bank managers and employees in order to respond to the competitive pressures from other market participants ( regulated and nonregulated ) and to increase efficiency. there is still a long way to go, but there are encouraging signs coming from our surveys. last year, a survey of banks showed that the use of artificial intelligence applications, even if still limited, is growing. these applications make risk estimates for customers more precise and speed up assessments of creditworthiness, favouring faster loan disbursement. the survey also indicated that while banks are aware of the need to adopt models that can be

italian banking association - annual meeting speech by ignazio visco governor of the bank of italy abi rome 8 july 2022 the economic situation and monetary policy the global economy is experiencing a period of great uncertainty. russia ’ s attack on ukraine is having serious repercussions on manufacturing and on trade and is driving up inflation, which in europe in particular reflects the continuing and exceptional rises in energy commodity prices, and to a lesser extent, of food prices. the outlook is also being affected by the ongoing difficulties in international supply chains for intermediate goods, recently made worse by the restrictions introduced in china to counter the spread of covid - 19 cases. there is the risk of a sharp slowdown in some advanced economies, above all in the united states, where the containment of inflation, also caused by a considerable increase in aggregate demand and in labour costs, requires a particularly vigorous monetary policy response. global economic activity in any case remains exposed to possible resurgences of the pandemic. in the eurosystem ’ s projections of early june, euro - area growth in 2022 was lowered to 2. 8 per cent from the 4. 2 per cent forecast in december. this increase had already largely been achieved thanks to the strong recovery in 2021, and implies an expansion lower than 1 per cent over the course of this year. gdp is currently being driven by the full re - opening of business activities, especially in services, which are also benefiting from the impetus provided by the strong resumption of tourism ; the negative effects of the energy shock on household spending are mitigated by the ample availability of savings, by fiscal measures and by the gradual recovery of the labour market. in june, consumer prices increased by 8. 6 per cent in the euro area compared with the same month last year. their growth continues to be fuelled by the rise in oil prices and above all gas prices that, following further cuts in supplies from russia, have risen sharply from €80 to more than €180 per megawatt hour since mid - june ; they stood at around €30 one year ago, when flows from russia had already declined, and at just over €10 before the pandemic. net of the most volatile components, inflation has reached 3. 7 per cent, since it, too, is influenced by the transmission of higher energy costs to the final prices of other goods and services. inflation is likely to remain very high on average this year ; it is expected to fall markedly