, ’ for results of a global survey of almost 800 business leaders conducted in september 2009. 5 see giuliano, l., levine, d. i, and leonard, j. ( 2006 ). ‘ do race, age, and gender differences affect manager - employee relations? an analysis of quits, dismissals, and promotions at a large retail firm. ’ uc berkeley : institute for research on labor and employment. 6 see christiansen, h., lin, h., pereira j., topalova, p. and turk, r. ( 2016 ) ‘ gender diversity in senior positions and firm performance : evidence from europe. ’ imf working paper, wp / 16 / 50. for other analysis see the gadhia report produced for the uk treasury entitled ‘ empowering productivity : harnessing the talents of women in financial services ’, which notes that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity are 15 per cent more likely to have financial returns above their respective national industry medians. the report also notes that in the uk, for every 10 per cent increase in gender diversity, earnings before interest and tax ( ebit ) rose by 3. 5 per cent. 5 / 6 bis central bankers'speeches 7 see brown, d., brown, d. and anastasopoulos, v. ( 2002 ) ‘ women on boards : not just the right thing... but the “ bright ” thing. ’ 70 report, 341 – 02 : the conference board of canada, ottawa. 8 see central bank of ireland ’ s demographic analysis ( 2017 ). 9 see central bank of malta. 10 see european union. 6 / 6 bis central bankers'speeches

driven corrections in the housing market. at the international level, the risk factors that i discussed earlier may generate higher mortgage funding costs and / or a downward revision in the prospects for income and employment growth in ireland. at the domestic level, a desirable expansion in the supply of housing would put downward pressure both on rents and house prices. as the national macroprudential authority, we are committed to ensuring that the domestic financial system remains resilient in the event of a reversal in house prices. the ceilings we have placed on loan - to - income ( lti ) and loan - to - value ( ltv ) ratios on mortgage loans are essential in limiting systemic financial risk emanating from the mortgage market. by guarding against excessive mortgage debt at the household level, these measures also serve a vital consumer protection function while also limiting the risk that a house price reversal is amplified at the macroeconomic level through deleveraging pressures on over - extended households. in relation to the financial health of the banking system, the mortgage measures are reinforced by the higher risk weights associated with mortgage lending in ireland under our capital requirements, together with the capital buffers we impose on systemically - important institutions. in discussing the risks associated with the housing market, it is essential also to maintain our focus on the legacy issues from the crisis. i next turn to discussing the management of npls, before turning to the financial conduct concerns that have been brought into sharp relief by the mis - handling of tracker mortgages across the irish banking system. non - performing loans the central bank ’ s work on mortgage arrears and npls spans its financial stability, prudential supervision and consumer protection mandates. within the remit of the central bank ’ s responsibilities, the approach to mortgage arrears resolution is focused on ensuring the fair treatment of borrowers through a strong consumer protection framework, while ensuring that banks are sufficiently capitalised, hold sufficiently conservative provisions, and have the appropriate strategies and operational capacities to resolve arrears. while there has been progress in recent years in reducing the stock of npls in ireland and across the euro area, significant challenges remain. in the absence of pro - active management, the remaining npl stocks may adversely affect the medium - term supply of bank credit and pose financial stability risks through elevated uncertainty regarding the true health of the banking 4 / 7 bis central bankers'speeches system. importantly, these risks render banks especially vulnerable in the event of a future downturn in the economy, such