, para ( 1 ), of the capital requirements regulation ( crr ) : “ capital requirements for credit risk on exposures to small and medium sized enterprises shall be multiplied by the factor 0. 7619. ” bis central bankers ’ speeches 1 january 2016 with a 10 - year phase - in period, the capital requirements for certain securitised products will increase significantly, thus potentially reducing insurers ’ willingness to allocate funds to such asset classes. the appropriateness of the capital charges in solvency ii and their consistency with the capital requirement rules under the crd iv are currently being reviewed by eiopa. in this regard, particular attention needs to be paid to providing a level playing field for banks and insurers as well as to enhancing long - term financing of the real economy through the securitisation of debt. conclusion in the nearer term, how can the impediments to bank funding of smes be addressed? in essence, these impediments are of three types : the banks ’ own funding conditions, their perception of the credit risk of their clients, and lack of capital. the ecb does not have a magic wand. the central bank cannot compensate for a shortage, or a misallocation of equity. that is something that has to be addressed, in one form or the other, by other stakeholders. neither can the central bank alter the credit risk of individual borrowers, although governments can have an impact here through reforms that improve the operating environment of those firms – labour and product market regulation for instance. where the central bank has a direct role, within its mandate, is primarily with respect to bank funding conditions. indeed, the ecb has taken and will continue to take appropriate measures to ensure that bank funding is not a source of financial fragmentation or an impediment to bank lending. it is reasonable to think that simultaneous action on all three counts, by the relevant stakeholders in each case, would be mutually reinforcing. bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches

yves mersch : the role of euro banknotes as legal tender speech by mr yves mersch, member of the executive board of the european central bank, at the 4th bargeldsymposium of the deutsche bundesbank, frankfurt am main, 14 february 2018. * * * first of all, i would like to thank the deutsche bundesbank organisers for inviting me to speak at this symposium. the particularly good cooperation between the various eurosystem central banks in the field of cash is not only part of our core business. it also serves the people of europe, for whom euro cash has an important function. but our cash has recently come in for greater criticism. last year alone, five member states1 consulted the ecb on measures to limit the use of cash. this represents a sharp increase compared with the number of consultations on this topic in previous years. opposition to cash is coming from different quarters. on the one hand, the “ law and order ” school says that criminals use cash to finance their illegal activities. others, meanwhile, who have developed business models involving new electronic payment methods, point to the “ cost ” of cash. we have to address these arguments. in the next few minutes, i would like to consider the following questions : why does the treaty2 grant ( privileged ) legal tender status to euro banknotes? in other words, why is there legal tender status at all? what is the role of the ecb and the eurosystem in protecting this status? and what implications does this have for our activities in the eurosystem? euro banknotes, and only euro banknotes, are protected as legal tender under the primary law of article 128 ( 1 ) tfeu3. but what exactly is legal tender? there is a commission recommendation on this point4. it is not binding. but it does provide for the following key elements : mandatory acceptance ( unless explicitly agreed otherwise ) legally recognised means for repaying a debt, i. e. with a discharging effect at face value, with no levying of additional fees permitted ( as is the case, for example, with credit cards ). precisely what else can be deduced from the legal tender status is a question of interpretation : the treaty and the binding secondary legislation do not define the content of the legal tender status. the national arrangements of the 19 member states of the euro area relating to the legal tender status which predate the introduction of the euro continue to apply. in