to myth as much as to reality, the largest human being of our time. ” this was the judgment of his contemporary, the philosopher and historian isaiah berlin. churchill himself said that “ a nation that forgets its past has no future. ” our banknotes are testaments to the outstanding achievements of the nation ’ s greatest individuals ; they are repositories of the united kingdom ’ s collective memory. that contribution will continue with the new £5, which brings together the future, in the form of polymer and the most advanced security features yet, and britain ’ s glorious history, in the achievements of sir winston leonard spencer churchill. bis central bankers ’ speeches

, rapid change in the financial sector has been a source of significant economic disruption. it is only by being fully cognisant of such risks that they can be managed successfully and the full benefits of financial liberalisation realised. while maintaining a focus on financial stability, i should note that i will tend to put more emphasis than usual on industrial organisation issues. the reason is that the link between industry structure and adaptability, on the one hand, and financial stability, on the other, has not received as much attention as it deserves. this is particularly so in continental europe. i. forces of change many of the forces of change behind the transformation under way are common to the financial industry globally. because the financial industry in europe has, in some respects, been less affected by these forces to date, europe should be in a good position to learn from the experience of others. of the global forces, three can be highlighted, viz. technology, the declining role of the state, and the emergence of more demanding consumers of financial services and shareholders. in addition, two distinctively european events have been the creation of a single market and the birth of a single currency. this combination of lagging adaptation to global forces and idiosyncratic shocks implies a particularly challenging time for the european financial industry over the next few years. technology is probably the most far - reaching and fundamental force. technological advances in the capture, elaboration and dissemination of information are paramount in an industry whose raison d´etre lies in informational frictions between ultimate suppliers and users of funds. the first wave of technological advances affected primarily the range and nature of the products provided, through the elaboration of information. of particular importance was the conjunction of conceptual break - throughs ( such as option pricing ) and enhanced computer power that spawned the creation and rapid growth of new financial instruments which allow the effective trading of risks. the second, more recent, wave has affected primarily delivery channels in the widest sense, through the communication of information. consider the opportunities provided by the internet for the dissemination of information about products and for trade execution, both at the retail level and, incipiently too, at the wholesale level. once mainly a concern of commercial bankers, anxious about retaining their deposit base, these electronic channels have become a key preoccupation of investment bankers too, who until recently tended to dismiss this challenge as fanciful in the extreme. the ultimate threat posed by technology is the “ death of the middle