which were marked by the financial crisis. he has gained significant experience during this time. we are glad that he is now returning to our central office as a staff member in the financial stability department. mr thierfelder will be responsible for setting up new market contacts and intensifying our existing ones. with the creation of this new post we hope to be better positioned to identify key risks to financial stability early on. it also testifies to the importance we attach to exchanging views with market participants. feline von heimburg has also been monitoring the development of the financial crisis when working in the financial stability departments of both the deutsche bundesbank and the european central bank. she will now be able to employ the experience she gained in europe in the more hands - on environment of the representative office. let me now thank felix thierfelder for his work over the past three years and welcome feline von heimburg as his successor. i wish both all the best for the future. thank you very much for your attention. bis central bankers ’ speeches

industrial sector increased significantly. overall it seems that, in line with previous expectations, the euro area economy will continue to expand over the rest of this year, albeit at a moderate pace. a glance at the labour market in the euro area also reveals an uneven picture : recovery had already been tentative before and slowed down further in spring. overall unemployment in the euro area currently stands at nearly 10 %, while the individual rates range from 4. 0 % in austria to as much as 21 % in spain. finally, consumer prices have been rising over the past months, and although the increase has slowed down somewhat of late, current inflation stands at 2. 5 % – clearly above the eurosystem ’ s 2 % definition of price stability. to prevent second - round effects and to ensure that inflation expectations remain firmly anchored, the eurosystem has raised interest rates twice this year. challenges in the euro area the major risk for the euro area is probably the uncertainty resulting from the debt crisis in greece and some other member states. however, in mid - july, policymakers agreed on an all - encompassing package to stabilise the situation. first of all, it is important to keep in mind that the situation in greece is exceptional in various aspects, and for these reasons the measures taken should not be extrapolated to other member countries. furthermore, from a central banker ’ s perspective, it is to be welcomed that the european council announced its intention to ensure sufficient capitalisation of banks and adequate collateral. for the eurosystem ’ s refinancing operations, solvent counterparties and sufficient collateral are crucial. when i mention counterparties, please allow me to briefly address one current point of interest in financial markets on both sides of the atlantic : us dollar funding of european banks. this is certainly an area that relevant authorities, including the bundesbank, monitor closely. but let me offer you some assurance about the current situation – in particular, of course, from the german point of view. without a doubt unsecured us dollar funding markets have tightened somewhat recently. for example, us money market funds, which account for a non - negligible but small part of european banks ’ short - term liabilities, have become more selective when providing funding to non - domestic banks. but let me emphasize that we are very far away from the situation we witnessed in 2008. first, liquidity needs can be covered by a number of other means including secured funding with repos. second, if need