central bank of ireland. at esma we are actively taking steps to address a potential vulnerability, namely the disconnect between a fund's name, a critical aspect for a retail investor when determining whether or not to invest, and the disclosures required in the eu sustainable finance disclosures regulation. in due course, the european commission look likely to further consider the introduction of a labelling regime for investment products in this area. that is something which we would be supportive of. closer to home, at the central bank, we have also taken steps to provide clarity in terms of disclosure expectations. that includes recently hosting a workshop with industry representatives where participants were able to exchange views on the disclosures required under the sfdr and how standards could be raised across the sector. in due course, following further engagement with the sector, the central bank will provide further clarifications to ensure these disclosures best serve the end investor. conclusion 4 / 5 bis - central bankers'speeches as regulators, we serve the public interest by maintaining monetary and financial stability while ensuring that the financial system operates in the best interests of consumers and the wider economy. in order to achieve this mission, we must continue to strengthen the resilience of financial markets and address areas of potential vulnerability. however, we also support other policy makers in identifying and addressing areas of fragmentation or other inhibitors which hamper the development of deeper capital markets. that is because consumer participation in investment products and financial markets can have a positive impact on the consumer's financial wellbeing, and as a result, their overall wellbeing. thank you. 1 see imf background note on cmu for eurogroup, dated 15 june 2023. 2 see : bain ( 2023 ) global private equity report 2023. 3 see financial integration and structure in the euro area, april 2022 ( ecb ). 4 see mckinsey ( 2023 ) private markets annual review. 5 for example, this includes the prospectus regulation, transparency directive, market abuse directive and exchange listing rules 6 see fsb chair's letter to g20 leaders : september 2023. 5 / 5 bis - central bankers'speeches

report on financial integration and structure in the euro area outlined that total euro area early - stage equity financing including business angel, venture capital and growth equity investments grew from €10. 7bn in 2016 to just under €14bn in 2020. venture capital accounting for almost all of the increase and nearly doubled over this period. nevertheless, the gap with the us widened. euro - area activity was less than 5 percent of us venture capital. 3 globally, the scale of private financing activities varies considerably by jurisdiction. according to one industry report, the us accounts for over 54 % of the private market assets under management. asian markets account for 22 % of aum and europe accounts for only 20 %. 4 clearly, more needs to be done to stimulate european capital markets. there are significant economic arguments which support the emergence of private finance supporting the real economy. firstly, publically listing a company is expensive and as such generally not an available option for small or medium sized enterprises. these costs range from the extensive public disclosure obligations on issuers as part of the initial public offering process. 5 but the costs also relate to the fees associated with the participants involved, including analysts, advisors, and brokers. as a result, private equity may offer a less expensive form of equity - based financing, particularly for smaller companies. secondly, reliance on bank funding imposes costs in terms of the increased cost of finance, hampering innovation and reducing resilience during periods of stress. private finance, including direct lending activities by 2 / 5 bis - central bankers'speeches investment funds, offers an alternative to bank funding which may address some of these challenges. reliance on bank funding in europe has been an acute issue for some time. but, remembering the theme of constant change i started with, who would have predicted that the first failure since the global financial crisis of a systemically important bank would have taken place earlier this year. that event and the other recent challenges with us banks have pushed banking regulation back onto the international regulatory agenda. 6 but those issues also serve as an important reminder to europe to diversify funding sources and continue to address the prevailing bank dominance. in that regard, it is positive that aifmd 2, on which the eu institutions reached a provisional agreement in july. the proposed changes are quite targeted and that is because since enacted following the financial crisis, the aifmd has largely been successful at increasing the transparency of the alternative investment fund sector in europe. though it was not without its challenges when