francois villeroy de galhau : new year wishes to the paris financial centre new year wishes to the paris financial centre by mr francois villeroy de galhau, governor of the bank of france and chairman of the autorite de controle prudentiel et de resolution ( acpr ), paris, 4 january 2022. * * * i would like to start by extending, on behalf of the banque de france and the acpr, our warmest wishes, to you, our partners in our daily work : elected officials, financial professionals, entrepreneurs, associations and members of the media. may this year be as happy as possible for you and yours, and may your projects be fruitful, despite this covid ordeal that has lasted too long, and despite all the uncertainties of 2022. my first wish is obviously that we finally overcome this pandemic, and that we escape from the pressure of this emergency and return to the fundamental choices for europe and our country, in the long term. the 20th anniversary of the euro, which we are currently celebrating, invites us to do so. the euro is without doubt the most concrete success of european integration ; it is “ europe in the citizen ’ s pocket ", at the service of the 340 million europeans who use it across 19 countries. moreover, the euro enjoys unprecedented popular support : 74 % of french citizens and 78 % of europeans are now in favour. the prerequisite for this confidence is price stability, which is the responsibility of the eurosystem ( the ecb and the 19 national central banks ) ; we have successfully achieved this primary mission. in france, the inflation rate has more than halved : 1. 4 % per year on average between 2002 and 2021, compared to 3. 4 % between 1982 and 2001. this is not just a statistic, it is a very concrete reality, measurable by a few examples. the price of a kilo of bread was eur 2. 7 in december 2001 and eur 3. 6 in november 2021, i. e. an annual increase of 1. 4 %. the price of pasta has increased at a much slower rate, with an average increase of 0. 1 % per year. the euro has therefore helped to protect the purchasing power of french citizens, which has increased by 25 % over the last twenty years. the temporary “ inflation hump ” that we have been seeing for the past few months, associated with an unprecedented economic rebound

thomas jordan : strong swiss franc and large current account surplus – a contradiction? introductory remarks by mr thomas jordan, chairman of the governing board of the swiss national bank, at the swiss institute of international studies, zurich, 19 february 2013. * * * the complete speech can be found in german on the swiss national bank ’ s website ( www. snb. ch ) for almost 18 months now, the swiss national bank ( snb ) has been enforcing the minimum exchange rate of chf 1. 20 per euro with the utmost determination. the need for this measure is widely recognised, both domestically and abroad, due to the substantial appreciation of the swiss franc in summer 2011. at the same time, however, there are isolated voices claiming that given the large current account surplus, the swiss franc is too weak, and that the snb should allow the currency to appreciate in order to contribute towards reducing global imbalances. this view is based on a lack of knowledge about the situation in switzerland. specific factors are responsible for the swiss current account surplus. the balance on the trading account, for instance, makes only a modest contribution. the most important elements with regard to the current account surplus are the following : first, investment income from switzerland's substantial net international investment position, second, financial sector earnings from business with customers abroad, which is traditionally of significance for switzerland, and third, earnings from merchanting, which have risen sharply over the past decade. the current account surplus is also statistically overestimated. these three most important elements are dependent on developments abroad, international financial markets, and global demand for commodities. the swiss franc exchange rate, by comparison, does not play a decisive role. there is thus no contradiction between having a strong swiss franc and a large current account surplus. nor is the surplus a suitable measure for assessing switzerland's share in global imbalances. it is much more the case that switzerland and its extensive level of direct investment abroad contributes significantly to balanced global economic growth. snb monetary policy is focused on ensuring price stability. in so doing, it takes due account of economic developments. to fulfil this mandate, the snb must secure appropriate monetary conditions. the current account surplus does not play a role in monetary policy. in an open economy like switzerland, however, sizeable exchange rate fluctuations have a strong impact on production and prices. in the current environment, and with interest rates close to zero, the minimum exchange rate is therefore