ich bin etwas aus der ubung. we speak english most of the time. ich sprach deutsch in osnabruck ( beim sparkassen - forum 2009 at the invitation of president pottering, at the time president of the european parliament ) : it seems to me that i was well understood by the audience and i was very happy with that. does a president of the ecb still have a private life? how often do you meet your children? i have two sons and four granddaughters. i meet my family as an average once every month, of course, more during vacation. you work in frankfurt, a great city of culture. have you ever visited a museum? true. i already knew frankfurt. but when i came to live in frankfurt i was very impressed by the number of museums and the quality of exhibitions, as also shown in international rankings. i was also quite amazed by the number of opera houses in the area : frankfurt of course, but also wiesbaden, mainz and darmstadt that you can reach by car within three quarters of an hour. do you have enough time to visit a museum? my wife and i, we go regularly to the stadel and the schirn, to name a few. we discovered a lot here. for example, we were very impressed by the exhibitions about picasso ’ s theatre decorations or the impressionist ladies. and going to the opera? what i discovered in germany was not only that you have a lot of opera houses in a small region but also that the production, the costumes, the “ buhne ” were always very modern, which is impressive. do you have a favourite opera? yes, don juan. how many days of an average week do you usually spend in frankfurt? my week often consists of seven working days, because we always have international meetings during the weekends, recently the g20 at the level of ministers and governors, for instance, in london and immediately after two very important meetings in basel. my life is very intense, as is normal : as an average of the five normal working days i spend three working days in frankfurt and two days elsewhere in europe and the weekend, very often, in international meetings in the rest of the world. do you have time for hobbies or sports? i walk. when i am on vacation i like sailing and other sea sports. do you read any german literature? when i came to frankfurt, whilst i had enormously appreciated thomas mann

would only proceed at a pace dictated by these considerations. for example, it will, i think, take some time and patience for hong kong - based banks to gain a physical presence in the mainland of china, be allowed access to renminbi banking business and command a significant share of that business. 5. but hong kong ’ s expertise in developing markets, in building the market infrastructure and, where necessary, in regulating markets and supervising market participants to uphold the efficiency and integrity of financial markets is there for everybody to see and tap. furthermore, we know the region, and particularly in the case of the mainland of china, i would argue that we know a lot more than others, and so we are in an advantageous position to perform an advisory role. and the financial community of hong kong, including the regulators, have been actively playing that advisory role. i can speak from experience here, although it would not be appropriate for me to be too specific. in many of the hong kong monetary authority ’ s contacts with, for example, our counterparts in the mainland of china, the subjects for discussion are increasingly on financial affairs in the mainland rather than those in hong kong. 6. i believe that in performing this advisory role effectively we will open up opportunities for the financial services industry of hong kong. as markets are built and liberalized in these neighbouring economies, i am confident that our own financial institutions will gain access to the business in those markets through establishing a presence there, and eventually compete, i hope, on a level playing field with the domestic financial institutions. in any case, the need for a physical presence with a large branch network in the provision of financial services may soon become a thing of the past with the advancement of telecommunications and information technology. it is still early, i think, to come to a definitive view, but the prospects are that electronic money and the use of the internet for banking and other financial services are breaking down geographical boundaries. barriers to entry and restrictive practices may lead to the diversion of business to offshore markets in locations with liberal practices. 7. the second area concerns financial intermediation in the international dimension, involving the flow of savings into investments across international boundaries. hong kong as a financial services centre has a business role of providing the markets, in banking, debt and equity, supported by other efficient financial services and the rule of law, to facilitate the international flow of funds in this region. our markets have the freedom, the liquidity and the integrity to attract international