other regulated or unregulated entities managing the platform. examples include marketplaces ( e. g. deposit marketplaces ) or even e - commerce portals distributing financial services, which are ancillary to their core business ; big techs play a significant role in this space. many authorities and stakeholders are addressing this issue, striving to increase their knowledge of this important phenomenon, raising interest from different perspectives. today i want to focus on one perspective : the microprudential one. the eba published a first report4 in september 2021, providing an initial taxonomy of the main business models observed. a crucial finding of this analysis is that regulators and supervisors do not yet have sufficient information on platforms and on their relationships with banks. thus, properly and systematically mapping the use of digital platforms by supervised entities and, more generally, the platformization of the financial ecosystem, are indeed essential. in a business model perspective, platforms can help financial intermediaries, specifically the traditional ones, in providing new products and services to their clients and / or increasing their customer experience, thus representing a way to support the viability and sustainability of business models. 5 in the meantime, the reliance on digital this paradigm is usually associated with the use of the open api, which allows an application to have access to the data of financial intermediaries and which therefore allows the exchange of information between different operators ( financial intermediaries, technical suppliers, other non - financial parties ) the functioning of the ecosystem is even more complex due to the presence of tpps with the freedom to provide services without establishment, located in other jurisdictions than the european union, and of big tech companies that are currently acting as purely technical service providers, but that might decide to have a bigger role in the financial ecosystem. https : / / www. eba. europa. eu / sites / default / documents / files / document _ library / publications / reports / 2021 / 1019865 / eba % 20digital % 20platforms % 20report % 20 - % 20210921. pdf for example, digital platforms facilitate access to financial services, the matching of customer preference ( e. g. in terms of ‘ search for convenience ’ ), support economies of scale, and leverage on network effects, reducing the need for physical premises. digital platforms also allow innovative business models to be developed that should be monitored and understood by the supervisors. platforms to promote and distribute services introduces strong interdependencies

as we try to weigh the risk of an unduly sharp downturn, against the threat to inflation posed by a sharp surge in global energy prices. much will depend on developments in the rest of the world ; on whether the slump in the us housing market causes a sharp slowing in the wider us economy : and on how far this acts as a brake on demand – and inflationary pressures – in the rest of the world, especially asia and the euro area. the projections we published in last week ’ s inflation report were centred around a relatively mild slowdown, by historical standards – on the same scale as we experienced in 2005 – based on the assumption of a gradual and modest easing in interest rates over the next two years. but those projections are subject to a very wide margin of error – in both directions. the mpc ’ s monthly decisions are always grounded in a careful analysis of all the evidence. given the uncertainties we face, now is a time to pay extra attention to the emerging data. we can, and should, respond quickly and flexibly to early signs of the changing economic weather. according to most recent official economic statistics, the weather is still set fair. but we know fouler weather is brewing off shore. what is still far from clear is whether we are in for a force 6 strong breeze, or a full force 8 gale. we will need to deploy all our meteorological skills. in the inflation report we highlighted a number of early warning indicators on both output and inflation, which will help us judge the strength of the wind. these include the reports from our own agents around the country, drawing businesses such as your own. if you are one of our regular contacts, let me take this opportunity to thank you warmly on behalf of the mpc for your help. we may be making additional demands on you over the coming months. i hope my remarks tonight have helped to explain why your co operation is so necessary – and so valuable.