strong set of rules and respect for those rules. and things have gone very well for germany since the second world war. but this strict approach also has a weakness in times of crisis, particularly when a fast and flexible reaction is required. the reaction to the financial and sovereign debt crisis could have been quicker, and more flexible. that is my personal view. we have learned from the crisis and are in the process of fixing monetary union. but a few more steps still need to be taken. most of all, we need much closer coordination of fiscal policy – and a stabilisation fund that can absorb sudden significant shocks. and the banking union is not yet complete. french president emmanuel macron wants to eliminate those very shortcomings and thereby change the fundamental features of the euro area. his plans include a common european budget, a european finance minister and a common deposit insurance scheme for european banks. can you understand that the german government is resisting many of these plans? i think one of the reasons for hesitation on the part of many european governments is that the euro area is currently going through a phase of very robust economic growth. when times are good, it ’ s always difficult to undertake reforms, because there doesn ’ t seem to be any need. in the past, significant eu reforms were always decided on at the height of a crisis. but that also makes them more expensive. will it take another euro crisis before we have a banking union? you ’ d think that the banking union would be the easiest of these reforms. what we need most of all here is to introduce a common european deposit insurance scheme, so that the savings of bank customers are protected at the european level if a bank fails. that would further strengthen confidence in the euro, because our money essentially consists of bank deposits. right now, germany is balking at the idea of this kind of mutualisation – not least because many italian banks are still harbouring masses of bad loans on their balance sheets. nobody in this country wants to be liable for that. how can this problem be 2 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches solved? it ’ s already being solved. we have started to considerably reduce levels of what are known as non - performing loans in the euro area – by more than €300 billion since 2014. this reduction has come about as a result of the pressure exerted by ecb banking supervision. and that pressure will remain strong. there ’ s another point on which germany stands more or less alone against most other

central bank of kenya euromoney kenya conference financial inclusion 2. 0 : expanding kenya ’ s digital financial ecosystem tuesday 9th may 2017 welcoming remarks by dr. patrick njoroge governor of the central bank of kenya good morning! 1. it is my pleasure to warmly welcome all delegates to this inaugural euromoney kenya conference. i am particularly pleased to extend a special welcome to those delegates who are visiting our country for the first time. i hope you will enjoy the excellent kenyan hospitality, and that you will find time to visit our national heritage sites within the city before you return to your respective countries. 2. i wish to salute the co - hosts of the conference — euromoney conferences, and the kenya bankers association. i also wish to acknowledge the other institutions that have sponsored and supported the conference : the co - sponsor, kenya commercial bank ; the africa regional partner, african development bank group ; and the supporting organizations, oracle and integrated payment services ltd. ( ipsl ). 3. the theme of this conference “ financial inclusion 2. 0 : expanding kenya ’ s digital financial ecosystem ” provides an excellent opportunity for the policymakers, thought leaders, bankers, investors, and entrepreneurs, all gathered here today as distinguished speakers and participants, to deliberate on the economic environment in africa and the outlook for the financial sector. the sessions will also offer insights on the strategic challenges and opportunities facing digital finance in the region. 4. as is well recognized, kenya has leveraged mobile phone technology and made remarkable strides in financial inclusion. a decade ago, kenya was characterized by high poverty incidences and high levels of financial exclusion. with the adoption of mobile financial services and agency banking, among other innovations, financial access has increased from 26. 7 percent in 2006 to 75. 3 percent in 2016. while this is remarkable, the question at hand remains how to expand the digital financial services ecosystem beyond basic money transfer, savings, and micro - credit. we are equally aware that there are still barriers to financial access that hinder 17. 4 percent of population from accessing the ( formal or informal ) financial system. further, we very much recognize that financial access does not necessarily translate to better living standards — but a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. 5. for kenya, current innovations have mainly addressed the issue of convenience of financial products and services to the general public. as a regulator in the financial sector, our focus now is to enhance the usage of the existing financial innovations as well as