might even have positive effects for banks ’ financing conditions. there is no doubt that the banking union is a major step forward in designing a better framework for monetary union. however, we also need structural reforms at the national level which are key to restore competitiveness and sound public finances. it is certainly true that reaping the fruit of success comes with a time lag. but experience from germany – which ten years ago was nicknamed the “ sick man ” of europe – shows that the benefits will come to the fore sooner or later. and lately, growth data from the euro area have been indicating that a silver lining is appearing on the horizon, macroeconomic rebalancing in the euro area is underway. importantly, the euro area left recession, with 0. 1 % growth in the third quarter. in, italy and greece contraction slowed down, while spain joined portugal and ireland in leaving the recession behind. at the same time, exports are increasing. all the crisis countries – except cyprus – are projected to see some export growth this year, ranging from just 1 / 2 % in ireland to almost 6 % in portugal. these achievements are reflected in current accounts reverting more and more to positive balances. competitiveness has also improved in most peripheral countries. since 2009 greece has seen its unit labour costs diminish by over 8 %, in ireland, spain and portugal unit labour costs declined by 11 %, 7 % and 6 % respectively. the structural reforms implemented are a key explanation for these successes. thus, at the center of the crisis, the situation is improving. but what about the two largest economies in the euro area ; what about france and germany? looking at france, we see good potential : the country is home to many renowned firms, it has a strong domestic market, and it has favourable demographics – in particular when compared to germany. however, it also faces structural challenges. the unemployment rate stands at more than 10 % and france ’ s world market share of exports has declined significantly over the past bis central bankers ’ speeches 10 years. and despite the consolidation efforts of the past years, public debt stands at more than 90 % of gdp – a level that could become a significant burden on economic growth. additionally, france has acknowledged the importance of a competitive economy. the government has embarked on a number of reforms to increase the competitiveness of the economy. furthermore, the social partners agreed on labour market reforms which could be an important step toward achieving a better functioning labour market.

carl - ludwig thiele : citius, altius, fortius – challenges for payments and settlement systems and their analysis speech by mr carl - ludwig thiele, member of the executive board of the deutsche bundesbank, at the conference " economics of payments viii " 2016, eltville am rhein, 9 november 2016. * * * dear participants of the economics of payments conference, dear president weidmann, thank you for your welcoming introduction to this conference. on behalf of the executive board of the bundesbank and of the directorate general payments and settlement systems i too would like to extend a warm welcome to everybody attending this event at our training and conference centre in eltville. the latin phrase “ citius, altius, fortius ", which translates as “ faster, higher, stronger ", has been the motto of the olympic games since 1949. the french dominican preacher henri didon originally coined the term back in 1891 for a youth sports competition, the aim being to motivate his students to give their level best and survive the stress of competing. this rallying call strikes me as equally prescient today with regard to payments. market participants ’ expectations of the availability, speed and security of payment systems are growing at an ever increasing rate. users are demanding that payment be made almost immediately, wherever the recipient is in the world and round the clock, all without any hiccups during transmission. ideally, payees would like to know exactly when they will take receipt of payment so as to be able to use that expected liquidity again in real time. if we are to fulfil these expectations then it will be necessary to massively expand the requirements that apply regarding the operation, oversight and analysis of payment and settlement systems. the operators of payment and settlement platforms, be they public or private in nature, are now consequently faced with growing challenges. the payments landscape is currently undergoing a number of significant developments that may prove game - changing. these include the advent of instant payments and the establishment of innovative fintech solutions as well as distributed ledger technology, which is built upon blockchain algorithms. the eurosystem is currently examining and enhancing its market infrastructure services by pursuing a range of project initiatives. on the one hand, following the successful migration of target2 securities, it is anticipated that the benefits and modern technology offered by this new platform can be put to use for target2 as well. moreover, in a second project, the eurosystem