jens weidmann : a central banker ’ s take on improving the euro area ’ s stability speech by dr jens weidmann, president of the deutsche bundesbank and chairman of the board of directors of the bank for international settlements, at the bank of portugal, lisbon, 10 december 2015. * 1. * * introduction governor costa, ambassador brandenburg, president martinho distinguished members of the portuguese government and the portuguese parliament ladies and gentlemen thank you very much for inviting me. it is a pleasure to be here in lisbon. i am very honoured that the event this evening has attracted such a distinguished audience. in my speech today, i will address the future of emu ‒ the economic and monetary union in europe. i will focus on the issue of making the euro area more prosperous and making the common currency more stable. the euro has always been a political project with the aim of establishing ever closer ties between the nations of europe. but, of course, it is more than just a political project – it also holds out the promise of prosperity. in recent years, this promise has lost credibility for many in the euro area, prompting some to regard the requirements of our common currency not as an anchor of stability, but as a source of instability. interestingly, this view is shared by both : observers complaining about the institutional framework being too restrictive to allow for national stabilisation policies, and those complaining about monetary union evolving into a transfer union, which is contrary to the stipulation of the maastricht treaty. it is undisputed, however, that the rescue mechanisms that were put in place prevented the crisis in the euro area from escalating. but they did so by mutualising fiscal liability on a substantial scale. fiscal and economic policies, by contrast, are essentially still a national prerogative, though the rules have admittedly been stiffened somewhat. as a result, the balance between liability and control has been thrown out of kilter. however, such a balanced partnership between liability and control is so crucial for the functioning of emu that it calls to mind a frank sinatra song called “ love and marriage ”. you may remember the words : love and marriage, love and marriage / they go together like a horse and carriage / this i tell you brother / you can ’ t have one without the other /... try, try, try to separate them / it ’ s an illusion however, while some would argue that love and marriage are separable concepts,

niklaus blattner : system stability and security of the systems summary of a speech by prof dr niklaus blattner, vice - chairman the governing board of the swiss national bank, at the luzerner tage fur informationssicherung ( lutis, conference on information security ), lucerne, 25 may 2004. the references for the speech can be found on the swiss national bank ’ s website. * * * the stability of the banking system and the security of the financial market infrastructure - including the stock exchanges and especially payment and securities settlement systems - have become an important concern of central banks all over the world in recent years. this has notably happened against the background of the numerous financial crises witnessed during the past decades. moreover, events such as 9 / 11 have heightened awareness for the security of the financial markets and other infrastructures. in switzerland, the growing importance of system stability has also been reflected in the new national bank act, which entered into force on 1 may 2004. within the framework of its principal mandate of pursuing a monetary policy in the interests of the country as a whole while at the same time ensuring price stability, the swiss national bank ( snb ) is legally obliged to make a contribution to system stability and to facilitate and secure the operation of cashless payment systems. in implementing its mandate, the snb takes preventive measures as well as measures aimed at overcoming crises. for instance, in a crisis the national bank plays an important role in providing liquidity. with the new act, the snb specifically bears the responsibility of overseeing the systemically important payment and securities settlement systems. the operators of such systems will in future have to meet certain minimum requirements, which will also include requirements with regard to information security. secure and reliable information and communications structures are an essential precondition for the smooth functioning of the financial system. in the context of its mandate, the snb limits itself to systems - relevant aspects in these areas. systems - irrelevant problems concerning individual banks or payment systems, by contrast, are explicitly not a part of its mandate. this is based on the conviction that the problems in the financial system must be solved by the market itself whenever possible.