( otc ) derivatives markets. with the aim of preventing regulatory arbitrage, the imf together with the fsb, have been requested to develop, by autumn, guidelines to assess systemic importance. until now i have focused on global initiatives ; let me now move to the european level and say a few words on how the macro - prudential approach shall be strengthened in europe, not the least because this issue is of great interest, and will have a close connection to the ecb. as you may know, the european commission, based on the recommendations of the de larosiere group, has recently proposed to establish a european systemic risk council ( esrc ) for macro - prudential supervision, under the auspices of the ecb / escb. 3 this council shall inter alia identify and prioritise risks to financial stability, issues risk warnings and when necessary give recommendations on measures to be taken. in my view, the creation of the esrc represents a major milestone in reinforcing the arrangements for safeguarding financial stability in the eu. however, three critical factors of success merit further consideration. first, access to relevant information for risk assessment and monitoring is crucial for the effectiveness of the esrc. in this context, effective institutional mechanisms should be in place to ensure adequate information - sharing between the esrc and the micro - prudential supervisors. second, the risk warnings and recommendations should be effectively translated into followup actions by the competent supervisory authorities. this requires adequate monitoring and enforcement mechanisms. third, the global dimension of the financial system calls for strong cooperation and coordination between the esrc and the imf and fsb. finally, let me stress that financial stability ultimately starts at the local level, as all decisions need to be effectively implemented in the national context. in this regard, countries should exploit the current global political momentum to ensure that the national frameworks for financial regulation and supervision, including also the framework for data collection, analysis and monitoring of systemic risk are adequate. when carrying out a reform, a fruitful strategy may be to benchmark against existing “ best practices ”, thus reaping the maximum benefits of the past experience, whilst ensuring the final product fits the local conditions. in this regard, the russian central bank and the eurosystem have been cooperating closely since 2003 on banking supervision issues. more recently, in april of last year, cooperation has focused on the implementation of the basel ii framework in russia. i trust this cooperation to be

european central bank : press conference - introductory statement introductory statement given by mr willem f duisenberg, president of the european central bank, and mr christian noyer, vice - president of the european central bank, at the press conference held in frankfurt, on 11 may 2000. * * * ladies and gentlemen, the vice - president and i are here to report on the outcome of today ’ s meeting of the governing council of the ecb. the governing council conducted its regular examination of the outlook for price developments and the risks to price stability in the euro area. the interest rate on the main refinancing operations of the eurosystem was left at 3. 75 % and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility were maintained at 4. 75 % and 2. 75 % respectively. allow me to give you an overview of the main elements of our assessment of the latest information on monetary, financial market and other economic developments. in march 2000 the three - month average of the annual growth rates of m3 - covering the period from january to march 2000 - rose to 6. 0 %, compared with 5. 9 % in the period from december 1999 to february 2000. consequently, m3 growth remained 1½ percentage points above the reference value of 4½ %. the annual rate of increase in credit to the private sector also rose, to 10. 9 %, compared with 10. 4 % in the previous month. these figures confirm our earlier assessment, namely that liquidity continued to be ample in the euro area in early 2000. as regards economic developments, recent information confirms the very positive outlook for strong growth in the euro area. all available indicators and forecasts seem to point to a phase of continued economic growth, following the upturn observed in the second half of 1999. industrial production rebounded in february and this, together with further increases in capacity utilisation and industrial confidence up to april, suggests an ongoing strengthening in industrial activity. in addition, with consumer confidence remaining at an all - time high and unemployment continuing to decline, the recent strength of private consumption should be sustained. looking at the world economy, the upturn in growth has become more broadly based, pertaining to both industrial and emerging economies, and most forecasts indicate that current growth differentials between economic areas are in the course of narrowing. notwithstanding the strong growth performance and favourable outlook for euro area economic activity, the exchange rate of the euro has continued to decline over the past few weeks and has thereby moved