important financial market utilities. more recently, we have also created an office of financial stability policy and research at the federal reserve board. this office coordinates our efforts to identify and analyze potential risks to the broader financial system and the economy. it also helps evaluate policies to promote financial stability and serves as the board ’ s liaison to the fsoc. international regulatory coordination as a complement to those efforts under dodd - frank, the federal reserve has been working for some time with other regulatory agencies and central banks around the world to design and implement a stronger set of prudential requirements for internationally active banking firms. these efforts resulted in the agreements reached in the fall of 2010 on the major elements of the new basel iii prudential framework for globally active banks. the requirements under basel iii that such banks hold more and better - quality capital and morerobust liquidity buffers should make the financial system more stable and reduce the likelihood of future financial crises. we are working with the other u. s. banking agencies to incorporate the basel iii agreements into u. s. regulations. more remains to be done at the international level to strengthen the global financial system. key tasks ahead for the basel committee and the financial stability board include determining how to further increase the loss - absorbing capacity of systemically important banking firms and strengthening resolution regimes to minimize adverse systemic effects from the failure of large, complex banks. as we work with our international counterparts, we are striving to keep international regulatory standards as consistent as possible, to ensure that multinational firms are adequately supervised, and to maintain a level international playing field. thank you. i would be pleased to take your questions. bis central bankers ’ speeches

by increasing the growth potential of the euro area. the growth potential of an economy, however, is determined by technological and structural factors. raising its growth potential is an important challenge that the euro area faces, achievement of which would spread its benefits throughout the world. while some reforms have already taken place, additional efforts are needed. ongoing comprehensive structural reforms of the labour and product markets remain essential in order to improve the functioning of markets in the euro area. responsibility for these reforms lies with the governments, and with the key national economic agents on the side of labour and industry. it is crucial to increase investment incentives through structural policy measures such as deregulation and privatisation. fiscal policy should continue along the path of diminishing adverse incentives provided by tax, benefit and pension systems, while reforms on the expenditure side of the budget are also needed for progress along the way towards the medium - term objective of attaining budgetary positions " close to balance or in surplus ". to sum up, although monetary policy cannot lift the euro area's growth potential, the benefits of price stability for growth are evident, as stable prices provide the proper environment for structural reforms to work. while the ecb will maintain its commitment to the maintenance of price stability, other policy - makers should assume responsibility for increasing the growth potential of the euro area. this, in turn, is the best allocation of responsibilities to contributing to sustainable non - inflationary growth in the euro area and, thereby, also at a global level.