##c has the initiative and capability to define the pan - european schemes for credit transfers, direct debits and cards. however, since the epc has no power to enforce, it would have to rely on the cooperation of the banking sector and infrastructures. the ecb, in cooperation with the eurosystem ncbs, stands ready for facilitating the implementation of the sepa objectives and for fostering the full adoption of the project which it considers key for achieving financial integration. concluding remarks ladies and gentlemen, i have explained why the ecb attaches utmost importance to progress in european financial integration and i have talked about the various channels we have at our disposal for fostering it. in describing the present state of affairs, i have also given the main examples where the ecb actively contributes to european financial integration. at the same time, i have made it clear that the ecb expects continued efforts from the private sector and i have mentioned the substantial opportunities of, but also the challenges to, the relevant public policy framework. the ecb has demonstrated since the first days of its existence that it is a credible and solid anchor for monetary stability. financial institutions and market participants know also that they can count on the ecb to be in the domain of financial integration a very strong pillar to sustain their efforts and to facilitate the success of this important european endeavour. thank you very much for your attention.

been severely weakened through import leakages. the fourth factor was the continuing diversification of the economy towards high value - added services, which have proved less vulnerable to the downturn. small businesses have featured prominently in this process. indeed, most of the enterprises in the emerging sectors of the economy, such as those in pharmaceuticals, remote gaming, ict and business and financial advisory services are smes. going forward, the prospects are for only slow growth in malta ’ s external demand. while imf projections suggest that global activity and trade volumes will expand by around 4 % and 6 % this year, respectively, the recovery in the euro area promises to be less robust and more gradual than in other advanced economies, and is expected to be conditioned, inter alia, by the ongoing process of balance sheet adjustment in both the private and the public sectors. economic activity is therefore expected to remain sluggish and uneven in 2010, with gdp expanding by less than 1. 0 % in both the euro area and the united kingdom. 4 mirroring these expected trends abroad, the central bank of malta ’ s projections point to a modest gdp growth rate of around 1. 0 % in 2010. net exports are likely to contribute negatively to growth, so that the main growth impulse is expected to come from domestic demand, driven by higher investment outlays on infrastructure projects and, to a lesser extent, by a moderate expansion in private consumption. labour market conditions are unlikely to improve this year, with the unemployment rate remaining above 7 %. this subdued growth outlook, together with the expectation that inflation will remain more elevated than in the euro area, will exert downward pressure on disposable income. overall, therefore, the economic environment facing small businesses in the foreseeable future, both domestically and in our main trading partners, will be less favourable than that which prevailed before the onset of the financial crisis in 2007. european commission interim forecasts, february 2010. small businesses access to finance since smes and micro enterprises are typically more dependent on bank financing than larger firms, the ongoing deleveraging of bank balance sheets in many eu countries represents a potential threat. the prospect of a prolonged period of restricted access to both working and investment capital at a time of subdued demand could result in the closure of many enterprises. in the euro area, credit growth has indeed slowed progressively during the past year. the latest figures, for february, suggest that loans to the private sector contracted by 0. 4 % from a year earlier