personal principles. i would also like to make a slightly different observation on banker ethics. what ’ s missing is not so much a personal commitment to good conduct, but rather a commitment to call out bad conduct observed in others. you might think it is a paradox or a contradiction to praise teamwork in one breath, and then in the next breath to call for raising the red flag when you see bad conduct in others. i do not see it that way. we hear often that integrity is a corporate value. i think what is often meant by this is honesty — doing what you say, and saying what you mean. but integrity, to me, has an additional meaning. it means operating according to a single, internally consistent set of principles. if you are honest only in some places or circumstances, but not others — or only with some people, but not others — then honesty is hardly integral or integrated into your life and work. the importance of this particular meaning of “ integrity ” was made apparent to me on a recent visit i made to the united states military academy at west point. the faculty and students there believe that strong individual ethics are what make large organizations like the u. s. armed forces succeed. the commitment of cadets to living the ideals of the institution was impressive and humbling. they embodied the word integrity — alignment of word and deed in all aspects of life. another lesson that i took from west point is that cadets commit to integrity because their careers — and, in combat, their lives — depend on others. we are in this together — this city, this industry, this country. and if we ’ re in it together, we all have to behave in ways that benefit the group. 7 we have to behave in ways that merit the trust of others. whether we are citizens or soldiers, the most important relationships in our lives are built on trust. in our personal lives, we take action when our trust has been betrayed. to reform financial services, we need to bring the same expectations of trust — and the consequences of a breach of that trust — to the office each day. if you would not tolerate a practice in your personal life, do not tolerate it in the office. calling out bad conduct is not easy. let me share with you another observation from preet bharara. a common element in many of the frauds his office has prosecuted is the failure of colleagues to call out bad conduct by raising their hands. this is so telling of a culture that

system contributed to the decrease in the bank's negative balance. the negative target balance continued to edge down in the first months of 2024, to around €500 billion on average in march. main drivers of the 2023 net profit and future prospects the eurosystem's monetary policy is designed and implemented to fulfil the statutory mandate of price stability, even if this leads to a temporary worsening in central banks'profit and loss accounts. last year, we anticipated that the bank of italy would post a sizeable gross loss for 2023, before the release of the general risk provision, largely due to the sharp contraction in net interest income. this has also occurred at the other eurosystem central banks, some of which recorded a gross loss as early as 2022. the rise in the ecb policy rates led to an increase in the cost of balance sheet liabilities, mainly bank deposits, with no corresponding increase in the yield on monetary policy assets. these assets are actually less sensitive to changes in interest rates, as they consist mainly of fixed - rate securities with medium to long - term maturities. 2 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches confirming what had been anticipated last year, the financial result for 2023 before tax and before the release of the general risk provision was € - 7. 1 billion, against €5. 9 billion in 2022. in addition to the €11. 4 billion deterioration in net interest income, the reduction in the financial result was explained by the net result of pooling of monetary income, down by €3. 5 billion, which was also attributable to the impact of monetary tightening over the last two years. the bank of italy is able to absorb these losses thanks to its past capital strengthening policies, based on the principle of prudence. the financial buffers built up over the years to weather the potential materialization of risks are more than sufficient to cover both the loss for 2023 and that estimated for 2024. based on current monetary policy decisions and the expectations regarding interest rate developments, we expect 2025 to mark a return to profit. as a result, €5. 6 billion is released from the general risk provision in the 2023 annual accounts. along with the positive contribution of €2. 3 billion from the carryforward of the tax loss – which will enable us to pay lower taxes in the future – releasing this amount means that the bank can close the year with a net profit of €0.