pentti hakkarainen : minimise the use of public money through the banking union speech by mr pentti hakkarainen, deputy governor of the bank of finland, at the 15th integrated financial supervisors conference, copenhagen, 25 june 2013. * * * thank you very much for inviting me today to this conference here in copenhagen. it is a pleasure to speak on such an extremely timely topic like the banking union. as we all know, finance ministers did not reach a political compromise on the bank recovery and resolution directive yet on friday / saturday. we should hear positive news on the bank recovery and resolution directive ( brrd ), which is an important milestone in the road towards the banking union. moreover, we are waiting also for the final vote on the single supervisory mechanism by the european parliament in early july. i hope this timetable will hold so that we can proceed well with the preparations to kick - off the single supervisory system in 2014. why a banking union? let me start with the question why it has been necessary to establish the banking union and the single supervisory mechanism ( ssm ) as its key component? the crisis since 2008 has made it clear that a highly interconnected and integrated euro area requires a stronger institutional framework than what we currently have. a problem at one bank can quickly spread to other banks both at home and beyond national borders with devastating effects on the real economy and taxpayers. furthermore, this crisis led to a sudden stop of capital flows within europe, as banks withdrew within national borders and financial integration took serious setbacks. an important element to strengthen the financial institutional framework is the creation of the banking union. the agreement to establish the ssm has been reached at a record pace. a strong and independent supranational supervisor is needed to ensure the smooth functioning of the monetary union and to restore confidence in the banking sector. the key element in confidence rebuilding is the balance sheet assessment of banks to be conducted before the ssm is up and running and timely action, if necessary, on potential weaknesses in banks ’ balance sheets. the idea is that legacy asset problems should be detected and potential capital shortages corrected before the operational start of the ssm and shifting of the supervisory responsibility to the european central bank ( ecb ). credibility of national supervision has suffered because of three reasons. first, national mandates of the supervisors lead to inability to handle cross - border challenges. second, the so called regulatory capture i. e. close relationships between banks and the supervisor led at instances

amando m tetangco, jr : the vital role of statistics in national development keynote address by mr amando m tetangco, jr, governor of the central bank of the philippines ( bangko sentral ng pilipinas ), at the 15th philippine statistics quiz ( psq ) national finals, central bank of the philippines, manila, 5 december 2006. * * * dr. isidoro p. david, president of the philippine statistical association ; dr. romulo a. virola, secretary - general of the national statistical coordination board ; honorable carmelita n. ericta, administrator of the national statistics office ; our distinguished judges and guests ; regional finalists and their teachers and parents ; fellow workers in the government ; ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. we, at the bangko sentral ng pilipinas, warmly welcome this opportunity to once again host the philippine statistics quiz national finals. the bsp has always been supportive of these kinds of activities that give due recognition to the vital role of statistics in national development. as the country ’ s central monetary authority and as the supervisor and regulator of the banking system, we formulate policies on the basis of statistical information that we produce, collect and compile, as well as monitor, assess and review. statistics are important not only for the stories they tell but also because they provide the basis for sound, sensible policies going forward. timely, relevant and reliable information provide sound guideposts that enable us to make informed choices and, ultimately, form an educated stand on issues that affect our nation ’ s future. with statistics permeating the different facets of life, the bsp, together with other statistical agencies, is confronted with the challenge of going beyond the production of statistics and moving toward upgrading the level of statistical literacy in the country. it is in this light that we commend the philippine statistics quiz ( psq ) steering committee for its efforts to promote and enhance awareness of the value of statistics in the school environment. this initiative of the psq is laudable as it helps demystify statistics as a science. statistics has long been perceived by many as a complex and even perhaps mysterious field of study. fora, such as this, however, can display how fascinating and practical this subject can be, as students tackle problems that show the interconnection between statistics and the real world. the bsp welcomes every opportunity to help nurture young minds with a view to strengthening the human resource base