and resources at management levels within credit unions, which can be used to bolster and improve critical business functions, as well as the risk management framework. with this knowledge that restructuring delivers good outcomes, and given the transformation and change that is happening in financial services, we at the central bank urge all credit unions – small, medium and large – to consider, or perhaps reconsider, the strategic opportunities that restructuring offers to achieve greater efficiency, build resilience, and build scale. we support larger asset - sized restructuring solutions to build scale, as well as the continuation of transfers between medium and smaller asset - sized credit unions. the process can be challenging, perhaps even daunting. but i believe that those among you who have undertaken such a change would encourage your colleagues to embrace the opportunity. we in turn welcome the opportunity that the new bill provides smaller credit unions, who choose to remain standalone, to collaborate and refer business to other credit unions, so that all members of any credit union can gain seamless access to the broader range of services that are now being provided within the sector, such as current accounts. i have however heard it said, not just once or even occasionally, that the lending limits imposed by the central bank act as an impediment to credit union growth. i must be clear that i totally disagree with this assessment. significant capacity exists within the existing limits for further house and business lending. at end of september 2023, there was total outstanding capacity of €2. 1bn should all large credit unions take advantage of the increased lending limits available to them. regretfully, there has not been a significant take up of these increased limits. of the 67 larger credit unions, only 12 have applied for the increased lending limits, and of these 12, nine have already been approved and the remaining three are presently being considered. as you all know, the credit union sector has significant funds to lend. you achieved strong growth in house loans for the financial year to september 2023. i urge you to utilise the capacity that exists within the existing house and business loan limits, and develop appropriate strategies to grow your loan books prudently. while you are achieving growth, the loan to asset ratio in the credit union sector at 30 % remains close to historically low levels. 7 / 9 bis - central bankers'speeches and when the loan limits have been utilised, or near - utilised, we will ensure that the regulatory framework, including the loan limits, remain

christian noyer : the stability - oriented monetary policy of the ecb luncheon speech by mr christian noyer, vice - president of the european central bank, at the conference organised by hsbc ccf securities, paris, 6 september 2001. * * * ladies and gentlemen, i am very grateful for your invitation to speak today in paris on the occasion of the forum organised by hsbc. as a contribution to today's discussion of strategies, i should like to explain the design of the monetary policy strategy of the ecb and how it helps the governing council of the ecb in its monetary policy deliberations and the communication with the public. then, i should like to discuss the current monetary and economic situation and its implications for monetary policy. finally, i would like to give you some information on the introduction of the new banknotes and coins. let me turn to the monetary policy strategy of the ecb. the primary objective of the ecb is to maintain price stability in the euro area. this objective has been chosen because price stability supports higher living standards through a number of channels. it enhances the transparency of relative prices and thereby fosters competition. inflation risk premia that would be asked for by investors in the presence of uncertainty about inflation are minimised. firms and individuals do not need to heavily invest in hedging against inflation and deflation, and thus can allocate their resources to productive uses. in an environment of price stability possible distortions of tax systems are reduced. the related improvement in the efficient allocation of production factors may help to enhance the production potential of the economy. also from a social point of view, inflation is not welcome. it leads to a'random'redistribution of wealth between economic actors, to the detriment of the most vulnerable. since the start of 1999, the ecb applies its monetary policy strategy, which is centred around a quantitative definition of price stability and the analysis of risks to price stability. this monetary policy strategy has helped the governing council to derive and explain monetary policy decisions. it has contributed a lot to the successful mastering of this task and has triggered academic debates whether elements of this strategy should be introduced by other monetary authorities. the key element of the ecb's policy framework is the precise quantitative definition of price stability. it clarifies that the governing council aims to keep annual increases in the harmonised index of consumer prices ( hicp ) for the euro area below 2 %. moreover, the governing council