costs source : bank of italy, supervisory reports. bis central bankers ’ speeches figure 9 distribution channels percentage of households ’ current accounts ( left - hand scale ) and units ( right - hand scale ) branches ( righthand scale ) households with remote banking transaction capabilities households with phone banking transaction capabilities source : bank of italy, supervisory reports. figure 10 banking industry factors of production thousands of units ( left - hand scale ) and millions of 2005 euros ( right - hand scale ) staff it investments deflated using the bea index 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 source : bank of italy, supervisory reports. bis central bankers ’ speeches

, the financial infrastructures of both advanced and emerging economies should be integrated into the global financial system, open to foreign players, and compliant with international standards of transparency. the last key priority is the need to develop well - functioning annuity markets. in a few years ’ time the number of pensioners for whom payout instruments will provide a significant fraction of retirement income is bound to increase, both in the advanced economies and in emerging and developing economies. at the moment, annuity markets around the world are rather thin, except in a handful of countries in which private pensions are more highly developed ( such as in the united kingdom, switzerland, chile and, to a lesser extent, the united states ). moreover, the payout phase arrangements differ markedly across countries, in terms of government intervention ( through regulation and taxation ), instruments and providers. policy action in this field should target two broad objectives : the choice of the payout instruments and their costs. the first goal is to develop products that better protect against the risks that materialize during the decumulation phase, namely inflation, longevity and financial market risk. we have to think about how to achieve an inflation - protected stream of income for life after retirement, also taking into account the possibility that people in old age – while spending on health - care services – might increasingly be able to combine work and pension income. on this issue, as has been repeatedly observed, an adequate supply of government inflation - linked and ultra - long - term bonds is an essential tool to help financial institutions to offer inflation - linked annuities or other instruments that serve pensioners ’ needs. governments should also consider issuing longevity bonds, or providing financial institutions with guarantees against extreme ( financial or longevity ) risks. bis central bankers ’ speeches the second broad policy goal would be to reduce the price of annuities and similar instruments. in this regard, a main policy tool is the timely release of accurate mortality tables, both for the total population and for different subgroups in the population. improvements in mortality tables would help reduce adverse selection costs and lower the premium for the aggregate longevity risk. fostering instrument transparency and comparability is another useful option, as it would be to promote competition among annuity providers. iv. conclusions the adjustment of pension systems to the demographic transition is a complex process that needs close monitoring and that will continue to unfold for a number of years to come. doubts about the viability of public pay - as - you - go arrangements and defined