the market, no matter where they were based. then, in the second phase of the crisis, the obstacles to liquidity provision became linked to territory. the banking sector and financial market in the euro area gradually fragmented along national borders. these borders separate banking sectors which, irrespective of the intrinsic quality of their intermediaries, are considered robust, because the country in which they are based is able to cope with a banking crisis, from those considered to be fragile, where the markets consider this capacity to be lacking. these borders thus separate countries that are competitive and have sound balance sheets from those characterised by fragile balance sheets and a lack of capacity for growth. the measures decided on by the ecb ( fixed rate full allotment, ltros, omts, assessment and quality of collateral, guidance on the duration of fixed rate full allotment ) helped to overcome, to a large extent, this fragmentation that characterised the funding of the banking system until mid - 2012. the dispersion in the growth rate of bank deposits has now returned to 2007 levels. progress on the lending front has been much slower. in the first group of countries, we are generally seeing normal or accommodative financing conditions for firms and households. in the second group, we are seeing a persistent tightening of credit, possibly decreasing in intensity in some countries, with retail bank loan rates that are much higher than those applied by banks located in the first group of countries and more stringent collateral requirements for loans. the ecb ’ s recently published “ survey on the access to finance of smes in the euro area ” 1 provides a clear picture of the difficulties this sector, so crucial for the euro area economy, finds itself in. among the principal causes for concern cited by the smes interviewed, access to credit was second only to the difficulties encountered in finding customers for their products. the obstacles to obtaining credit ( linked to the refusal to grant credit ) persist, and represent one of the main factors of heterogeneity between countries in the euro area, though they are not confined to those countries under stress. in fact, in addition to smes in greece, ireland and spain, a large number of smes operating in the netherlands are encountering significant obstacles ( around 45 % of the firms surveyed ). these figures reflect the considerable heterogeneity in borrowing conditions, as also shown by the most recent bank lending survey. this fragmentation is all the more troublesome in an

and four million conversion cards, which show prices converted into euro as well as the most important security features of the 20 euro banknote, will be sent to all slovak households in december. the national bank of slovakia will be able to ensure that everyone will be well prepared for the euro changeover. i am confident that all of these efforts and activities will make the euro introduction a success in slovakia. as i arrived in bratislava i was most impressed with the facade of the national bank of slovakia and its banner showing the euro banknotes and coins, which is clearly visible from all over the city. governor sramko, it now gives me great pleasure to invite you to symbolically unveil what i believe is the biggest banner ever displayed in slovakia! to mark this festive moment, i am also very happy to hand over the traditional euro star to governor sramko to symbolise narodna banka slovenska ’ s joining of the eurosystem. i feel most honoured to open the euro exhibition, which houses a presentation of the euro banknotes and coins and contains interesting information about the euro for people of all ages. there are also many interactive games for children. i now declare the euro exhibition open! we very much look forward to welcoming slovakia into the euro area.