tides, cities and countries as international financial centers rise and fall. for the most part, this rise and fall seems to reflect dynamic criteria such as transportation infrastructure, political stability and regulatory patterns. 1 since the 1970s, the competition amongst international financial centers has of course become genuinely global with diverse places such as luxembourg, singapore, hong kong, dubai and, most recently, shanghai joining the race. switzerland has good reasons to be confident about its ability to defend its status. most importantly, it sets out from a position of strength. particularly in the area of wealth management which comprises over half of the total added value of the banks, switzerland is clearly one of the world ’ s leading provider of services. the value of total assets managed in customer accounts in domestic banks as of the end of the year 2003 amounts to chf 3 ’ 300 billion, of which nearly 60 % is held by foreigners. according to various estimates, this corresponds to approximately one third of the world ’ s total private wealth managed abroad. much has been said and written about the various strengths of the swiss financial center which account for the dominant global position in wealth management. political, economic and monetary stability, know - how, traditional high quality of services provided, guaranteed protection of privacy and strict conditions ensuring the prevention of abuse are all key ingredients to switzerland ’ s past and future success. in the current global market place, some of these strengths represent structural competitive advantages. the swiss authorities and the swiss financial sector representatives rightly charles p kindleberger ( 1974 ) : “ the formation of financial centers : a study in comparative economic history ”, princeton studies in international finance, no 36, princeton : princeton university, november. make great efforts to defend these structural competitive advantages as much as other sovereign countries defend theirs. nonetheless, in a fierce global competitive environment, defense is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for sustained success. the offensive component of a comprehensive swiss strategy must be an unequivocal commitment from politicians, regulators and financial sector representatives to competition and free markets. such a commitment will foster innovation which will ensure the long - term viability of switzerland as a leading global financial center. a commitment to competition includes a firm commitment to an effective regulatory system based on transparency, proportionality, predictability and an uncompromising fight against abuse. such a regulatory framework does not stand in opposition to a commitment to free markets. to the contrary, it strengthens free markets by upholding the integrity of markets. regulatory authorities must not loose sight

ben s bernanke : brief welcoming remarks – “ community banking in the 21st century ” remarks by mr ben s bernanke, chairman of the board of governors of the us federal reserve system, at the “ community banking in the 21st century ”, a conference co - sponsored by the federal reserve system and the conference of state bank supervisors, st. louis, missouri, 2 october 2013. * * * i would like to welcome everyone to the inaugural community banking research and policy conference, co - sponsored by the federal reserve system and the conference of state bank supervisors ( csbs ). i particularly want to thank the federal reserve and csbs staff members who worked hard to organize this event. by bringing together community bankers, bank regulators, and researchers from academic institutions and government agencies, the conference will help us all to better understand the issues that are most important to the future of community banking. you may have noticed that i referred to this as the “ inaugural ” conference. although firm plans have not yet been made, i do hope this will be the first of many joint federal reserve system and csbs conferences that focus on community banking research and policy. the u. s. banking system has undergone significant consolidation over the past two decades or so, with very large banking organizations increasing their market shares. nevertheless, community banks ( which we typically define as banking institutions with assets of $ 10 billion or less ) continue to provide vital financial services to households, small businesses, and small farms in communities across america. community banking is fundamentally a local, relationship - based business. community bankers live in the localities they serve ; their customers are their neighbors and friends. their direct, personal knowledge of the local economy enables them to tailor products and services to meet their communities ’ needs. they can look beyond credit scores and other modelbased metrics to make lending decisions in part based on more qualitative information that large regional or national financial institutions are less well suited to consider. community bankers recognize that their own success depends on the health of the communities they serve, which is why so many community bankers contribute locally as citizens and leaders as well as in their capacities as lenders and providers of financial services. the photos that you see around the conference center do a very nice job of capturing the spirit of community banking and illustrating the contributions of community bankers. although community banks have some natural advantages, such as local knowledge and relationships, they also face significant challenges. as battle - scarred survivors of a financial crisis and deep recession