in the negotiations. in this context of uncertainty, within the ssm framework, banks are considered to be responsible for taking the necessary steps to obtain all authorisations required for them to carry out their activities in a timely manner to make sure that they can continue to serve their customers after 30 march 2019. they are expected to present credible brexit plans and to use the possible transition period to implement their plans, not to delay planning. it is acknowledged that adapting to a scenario where the uk becomes a third country is challenging. conclusion to sum up, capital markets - like banks - are facing major challenges at a time of farreaching transformation. one of those challenges is the uncertainty that a structural change such as brexit generates. but capital markets also find themselves at a juncture where, first, efforts made in recent years to reactivate specific markets may start showing results and, second, the european political context is such that there appears to be an opportunity to foster the capital markets union and to contribute to deeper and more integrated markets in the european union. thank you for your attention. 6 / 6

in all, i would conclude that the financial sector in asia is still lagging behind when compared to other very dynamic and exemplary sectors in the region, such as certain industries, education and technology. i believe that this imbalance may eventually become a drag for the consolidation of a sustained growth path. therefore, the development of the financial system is of central importance for the long - term growth perspectives. under these circumstances, banking reform and restructuring is an important challenge that many asian economies are inclined to face. let me tell you that in spain we know well this challenge and its rewards. the highly successful performance of the spanish economy over the past 20 years cannot be explained without taking into account the significant contribution by the financial sector and, in particular, by the banking system. in turn, the transformation – and improvement – of our banking system in this period has been outstanding. this is evidenced, for example, by its favourable performance in terms of profitability, efficiency and solvency, both on an absolute basis and in comparison with other countries. taking advantage of hindsight, i would like to stress two chief lessons learned from this twenty - year process of modernisation. the first is that regulator and banks have formed a “ joint partnership ”, prompting a fruitful “ virtuous cycle ” and matching goals and efforts in order to attain efficiency and soundness. close communication and constant exchanges of views are the principles currently governing this relationship. the second lesson is that, at the end of the day, there has been no trade - off between profitability and soundness : the competitive capacity of spanish banks has not been dented by supervisory policies. these policies have been oriented towards enhancing the solvency and internal governance of banks, and to increasing the confidence of the public and the markets in the banking sector. however, this transformation has not been painless. it has to be recalled that the spanish financial system had to overcome a deep - seated crisis in the mid - seventies to early eighties. by the end of the 70s, our banking system was weak, closed, corporatist, old - fashioned and highly regulated. such regulation affected many of their operating areas, curtailing competitiveness. interest rates were set administratively and credit institutions were obliged to meet investment ratios to finance certain economic sectors with maximum interest rates. this environment made for weak structures with no incentive to compete and no professional teams or systems to accurately identify and manage risk. at that time a range of new banks were allowed to set up. most