burkhard balz : global competitiveness of the european financial market keynote speech by mr burkhard balz, member of the executive board of the deutsche bundesbank, at the annual reception of the european parliamentary financial services forum ( epfsf ), brussels, 6 september 2023. * * * check against delivery 1 introduction ladies and gentlemen, i have always looked back fondly to my time as a member of the european parliament. back then, one of the jobs that i especially enjoyed was my work as part of the european parliamentary financial services forum. so, of course, i was very happy to accept your invitation to this event today and i am delighted to be here ( once again ). 2023 marks the anniversary of two important events in europe. 50 years ago, the european community was enlarged for the first time with the accession of the united kingdom, ireland and denmark. this was the first of many rounds of expansion. and many countries are still striving to join the eu. this is a very impressive sign of how attractive our community is, despite brexit. 30 years ago, the european single market raised europe's economic integration to a new level. 30 years later, we can safely say that the single market has been a success story. an important part of this success story is also the gradual convergence of formerly national financial markets. much has already been achieved in this regard – particularly on account of the lessons learned from the financial and sovereign debt crisis from 2007 onwards. as part of the banking union, common supervisory and resolution mechanisms have been created. efforts have begun towards the harmonisation of national deposit guarantee schemes. the european financial sector is currently in a good position. proof lies, not least, in the resilience of the european banking sector following the turmoil at banking institutions in the united states as well as credit suisse during the spring of this year. nonetheless, the integration of european financial markets is still incomplete. 2 where do we stand? whilst a lot of progress has already been made towards the banking union – such as the single supervisory mechanism and the single resolution mechanism – much work remains to be done on the capital markets union. in 2015, the european commission launched its first action plan for the capital markets union, aiming to mobilise more 1 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches private capital and create incentives for cross - border investment by removing regulatory barriers. in 2020, it adopted another action plan with the goal of making europe a

discourse. in my view, it is therefore not so much a question of taking a " giant leap ", but more of specifying and implementing existing 2 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches considerations. and the clear aim here should be to make european capital markets more attractive. this is something for which harmonised, reliable and uncomplicated legal frameworks are crucial. the action plan presented in 2020 already provides very concrete recommendations for a total of 16 areas. one of these areas is the securitisation market. here, it could be possible to stimulate the market by reducing any unnecessary regulatory barriers faced by market participants. this would bridge a gap between bank financing and the capital market, as securitisations could help to distribute risk more efficiently in the capital market. another area is the currently highly divergent national regimes for corporate insolvency resolution. the lack of harmonised insolvency rules is currently considered one of the main obstacles to the free movement of capital within the european union. the eurosystem, too, plays a role in strengthening the capital markets union : through its objective of price stability, which is a major factor that makes eurodenominated assets attractive ; through banking and financial supervision, which inspires confidence amongst investors ; and by strengthening market infrastructure, for example through t2 in payments and securities settlement, in which the bundesbank plays a major part in development and operation. 5 conclusion ladies and gentlemen, anniversaries are an occasion for joy, and, at the same time, a good time for reflection. what is clear is that europe's success story has not yet reached its conclusion, and more progress is needed on the capital markets union, in particular. there is no shortage of big, new ideas here, as meaningful proposals are on the table. but, as former german federal president joachim gauck once said : " more europe requires more courage from everyone. " policymakers and the financial sector now need the courage to flesh out and implement these proposals in order to remove any obstacles on the road to deepening the capital markets union. it's a lot like running hurdles in athletics : speed is important, but so are good timing and fitness. you only reach your goal once you've successfully cleared all of the obstacles in your path. now is a good time to clear some more of these hurdles, which will surely bring us closer to the finishing line. thank you. 3 / 3 bis - central bankers '