##p, as it had already been expressively named, would also suit the bank of finland's needs. for us, the key selection criteria were : • it enables the streamlining of work flows in the best and most economically sensible way, by making widespread use of modern bar code techniques, for instance. • it reduces the need for our own resource input in it by offering an almost fully - fledged system as well as the equipment to run the system. • it supports harmonisation of the eurosystem's cash distribution function towards a single euro cash area. • it is in line with the eurosystem's mission, strategic objectives and organisational principles. having decided to join the cashssp, negotiations were commenced on the necessary agreements, pricing policy and a more detailed operational framework. it is clear, that when trying to find the common denominator in information technology, business options and in sharing costs and benefits, negotiations are not necessarily simple or easy. in the course of the process, our cooperation partners have, however, shown understanding for the questions we have raised, and the negotiations have taken place in a very constructive and fruitful atmosphere ; as an expression of these efforts we are now here to sign the agreement, and the bank of finland's cashssp project can be formally launched. at the practical level, we have already been preparing this project for a long time. despite a comprehensive cooperation agreement, the success of cashssp will be based on confidence between all parties involved and on the quality of ongoing cooperation. the parties are committed to help each other to the best of their ability. an excellent example of this is the assistance that the nbb is already providing to us in the form of system installation and user training. in a broader context, cooperation by national central banks in the cashssp project is a significant case of the new, truly european approach to central bank operations, which is evolving within the eurosystem. member ncb's are now looking for ways to deepen their cooperation in a flexible and creative manner, developing areas of specialisation on the basis of their relative strengths. this is, without doubt, a welcome development. according to the organisational principles of the eurosystem, as adopted by the governing council, " potential synergies and economies of scale shall be identified and exploited to the extent feasible ", and " the eurosystem shall energetically pursue organisational options that ensure effectiveness, efficiency and prompt action "

of shareholders, but the eradication of poverty and the long - term development of the regions where they operate. hence they are retail, not wholesale banks, and they abide by that old maxim of banking : know your customer. while helping first time buyers to buy their own homes by granting mortgages, for instance, they do not trade in mortgages. perhaps it is precisely because our local banks share so many of these characteristics with the cooperative banks that the need to set up a cooperative bank proper has never so far been felt here. in fact, our established banks are also – almost of necessity, given malta ’ s small size – deeply rooted in the local community, and are principally geared to contribute to the sustainable development of that community. they too are predominantly retail, not wholesale banks, operating a very traditional business model, one that has largely shielded them from the problems of the international financial turmoil of these last years. they take deposits from ( mainly ) small local savers and make loans to ( mainly ) small or medium - sized local businesses and help people buy their houses by providing mortgages. their officers, like those of the cooperative banks elsewhere, belong to the community in which they operate and generally know their customers and the local environment. in addition, one of them is involved in the european investment fund ’ s jeremie programme, a programme designed specifically to help small and medium sized enterprises. the bank in question has committed over eur 5 million over a period of three years to some 280 local sme beneficiaries under the programme. indeed, one could say that it is mainly in their ownership structure that the local commercial banks, which are joint stock ( or “ shareholder value ” ) banks, differ from cooperative banks. in all other respects they are not very different. so that leaves us with the question : is there or is there not scope for setting up a cooperative bank in malta? is there or isn ’ t there space for such an institution? or is the local market too small, while our community is being adequately served by the banks already operating here? i think it is not for me to answer these questions. but the point has been made, and i think it is a valid point, that competition – so necessary to ensure that customers get the best possible service at the least possible price – depends more heavily on the variety of business models rather than on having a large number of institutions giving roughly the same kind of services in more - or - less the same