##banked clients. i am happy to share also that the bsp has made significant inroads with the implementation of the national retail payment system ( nrps ). the nrps implements our commitment to upgrade the country ’ s retail payment system by promoting electronic retail payments and facilitating inter - operability for faster settlement of transactions. the nrps will facilitate our transition from being a cash - heavy to a cash - lite economy. this will eventually bring benefits to the economy – in terms of speed and efficiency of transactions, reduced costs, improved transparency, enhanced security, and expanded access to financial services. last april, we launched instapay, the second automated clearing house under the nrps following the launch of pesonet. via instapay, filipinos can enjoy safe and affordable accountto - account electronic retail payments in real - time. transactors may send and receive funds or make payments in real time of up to p50, 000 per transaction. the transferred funds are instantly received in full as no fee is charged for the electronic crediting of funds to the receiving party ’ s account in instapay participating institutions. there is no reason why rural banks should not want to be part of pesonet and instapay. leveraging on technology and value chains with the digital transformation of the banking system, we, at the bsp, are optimistic that the rural banking industry can emerge as a strong and dependable delivery channel in the provision of banking services. it can do so by taking advantage of available technology. opportunities for growth may be seized should you cater to the needs of the young generation. studies show that fintech has great potential to transform financial services given the country ’ s young demographic profile. according to the world bank findex, 23. 5 percent of our population are composed of young adults ( between 15 to 24 years old ). the domestic digital money ecosystem certainly needs players, big and small, to meet the exacting demands of this new breed of clients. on this note, i am happy to report that one rural bank is already pilot - testing a cloud - based banking solution in managing its day - to - day operation more effectively and serving its clients more efficiently, thereby upgrading its competitiveness. meanwhile, several banks, including rural banks, and non - bank financial institutions are already utilizing the lendr platform to facilitate credit origination processes. still others are hooked up with a commercial bank on a block chain pilot. rural banks

andreas dombret : the situation in the german banking sector – challenges in striking a balance between weak profitability and the lowinterest - rate environment speech by dr andreas dombret, member of the executive board of the deutsche bundesbank, at the press conference to unveil the deutsche bundesbank ’ s financial stability review, frankfurt am main, 25 november 2015. * 1. * * banking supervision : successful first year in the ssm ladies and gentlemen before i delve into the risk situation in the german banking sector, i would briefly like to look back with you on year one of european banking supervision. on 4 november 2014, the ecb assumed direct responsibility for supervising the largest 120 or so banks in the euro area. those included 21 german institutions, although the number has risen to 22 in the meantime. given the sheer scale of the project and the very short time available for preparation, many were doubtful about whether european banking supervision could actually work. my answer after one year of the single supervisory mechanism ( ssm ) is : yes, it is working, and i am confident it will continue to meet the high expectations placed in it. cooperation between the ecb and the national supervisors is running pretty smoothly, and we are indeed observing a gradual europeanisation of banking supervision. so i ’ m satisfied with the first year of european banking supervision. there are a few points we can improve on. these include, for instance, decision - making structures and processes. in this regard, i believe that an adequate distinction is still not being made between important processes and routine decisions ; having said that, however, my comments are by no means intended to imply criticism. of course, european banking supervision has heralded a lot of changes, especially for the major banks. communication with banking supervisors is increasingly taking place in english, cross - border peer comparisons between banks are growing more important, and the supervisory approach has taken on a more quantitative slant on the whole. these factors all entail more work for the banks, of course ; but the banks, too, ultimately stand to benefit from improved supervision and a europe - wide level playing field. looking to the future, another topic that ’ s on the table right now is a european deposit guarantee scheme ; indeed, the european commission presented a plan only yesterday. i take quite a critical view indeed of this project because i don ’ t believe that the groundwork has been laid for such a scheme yet. we have a common currency and a