francois villeroy de galhau : special address on the french national strategy for financial education speech by mr francois villeroy de galhau, governor of the bank of france, at the 4th oecd / gflec global policy research symposium to advance financial literacy " addressing the needs of youth ", paris, 24 may 2017. * * * accompanying slides. your highness ( queen maxima of the netherlands ), mr. secretary general, ladies and gentlemen, i am delighted to be here with you today for this symposium on financial literacy. indeed, french citizens have high expectations about financial education : [ slide 2 ] 78 % believe that financial literacy should be taught at school and 65 % believe that access to it would reduce overindebtedness and financial vulnerability. 1 academic research by annamaria lusardi and olivia mitchell2 confirms its importance, as does our own research in france3 [ slide 3 ]. if we consider the three " standard " questions used to assess awareness of interest rates, inflation and risk diversification, only 30 % of those surveyed answered all three questions correctly, which is lower than in other european countries. furthermore, in france some of the worst results were obtained by the youngest age group, as well as the oldest. however, there is more at stake : this represents a challenge for democracy. providing our fellow citizens with the keys to understanding complex economic debates is a matter of respect. there's no use in complaining about " populism ", which incidentally is a label that is too easily used, if we can't provide the " people " with the ability to ask the right questions and then evaluate the answers. france has therefore made a firm commitment to implement a strategy for financial education based on the principles set out by the oecd and endorsed by the g20 leaders. work on the strategy began in 2013 and on 20 december of last year, the minister of the economy called the first meeting of the national committee for financial education. this committee brings together relevant administrations and institutions, consumer associations and finance sector professionals, and gives the political impetus at the very highest level. the minister also reaffirmed the role entrusted to the banque de france of conducting the national strategy. before continuing with a presentation of our first collective achievements, i would like to focus on the role of the banque de france. * * * 1. the banque de france, the conductor of the national strategy [ slide 4 ] the banque de

francois villeroy de galhau : france and germany facing european challenges in the crisis speech by mr francois villeroy de galhau, governor of the bank of france, at the bundesbank conference “ banking and payments in the digital world ”, berlin, 11 september 2020. * * * ladies and gentlemen, 1. to this day, the coexistence and complementarity of central bank and commercial bank money as settlement assets has structured the payment landscape and preserved the stability of the monetary system. yet this structure is increasingly being questioned. • our payment landscape is based on the coexistence and complementarities of central bank money and commercial bank money as settlement assets. their respective roles are clearly assigned : central bank money ensures the stability of the financial system while the multiplicity of issuers of commercial bank money preserves competition and innovation in the provision of financial services. their interplay and their interchangeability at par value ensures the safety and efficiency of the financial system. • however, the balance between these two forms of money cannot be fixed once for all, as it depends on changes in payment habits, the evolution of the financial ecosystem and the emergence of new technologies. • in the retail space, the digitalisation of the economy and the development of cheap, highly effective digital payment solutions displaying innovative features ( e. g. they are instantaneous and more user - friendly ) undergo ( i ) a decline of the use of cash in transactions, which puts into question the availability of central bank money for the public, and ( ii ) an increase of cashless payments which leads to a wider use of commercial bank money. this trend has apparently accelerated since the outbreak of the covid - 19 crisis. • besides, increased reliance on digital payment solutions also exposes how our european ecosystem has become critically dependent on non - european players ( e. g. international card schemes and big techs ), with little control over business continuity, technical and commercial decision - making, as well as data protection, usage and storage. • meanwhile, the development of crypto - assets and of so - called “ stablecoins ” aims to create a new category of settlement assets. stablecoins in particular may compete against both commercial and central bank money, even though they do not offer the same guarantees in terms of credit risk, liquidity, service continuity, and neutrality. • these trends at stake bring both benefits and risks, and we must consider them as a whole. we must acknowledge that