to the areas of most risk to consumers or the system. and, importantly, it will place consumer protection at the heart of day to day supervision. i firmly believe that these changes are not just important ; they are necessary – so that in a changing world we continue to deliver on our mandate in the public interest and in the interest of consumers. conclusion to conclude, the central bank and the hia are working hard to ensure that consumers get the best possible outcome. the insurance sector has an important role to play in ensuring that the products offered are clear, transparent and can be well understood. and consumers also have their own responsibilities in this regard – with increasing the level of financial literary in ireland an important objective to ensure they are equipped to act in their own best interest. and finally the financial sector is rapidly changing and becoming increasingly complex. in that regard, the central bank is changing too – so that we can continue to deliver for consumers in a more complex world. 1 see donnery " maintaining stability in the face of volatility – financial regulation in a rapidly changing world " november 2023 2 see central bank of ireland regulatory & supervisory outlook 2024 ( pdf 2. 08mb ) feb 2024 3 barry schwarz : the paradox of choice : why more is less 2004 4 see derville rowland https : / / www. centralbank. ie / news / article / speech - deputy - governor - derville - rowland - opening - remarks - for - launch - of - consultation - paper - on - reviewof - the - consumer - protection - code - 07 - mar - 2024 5 / 5 bis - central bankers'speeches

year 2017, the ecb staff projections prepared in early march forecast growth of 1. 8 %. and judging by the current indicators, the euro area has a good chance of hitting that forecast. furthermore, the inflation rate of 1. 9 % is exactly where the ecb governing council wants it to be - below, but close to 2 %. yet the latest surge in inflation can mainly be put down to the sharp upturn in energy prices. that is to say, it is ultimately a baseline effect. and when that baseline 1 / 6 bis central bankers'speeches effect expires, the rate of inflation will shrivel again in the second half of the year, if not sooner. activity in the euro area may be steadily firming, but if we take the traditionally highly volatile energy prices out of the equation, inflation is actually still rather subdued. in recent months, core inflation hovered at around 1 % - that ’ s quite some way off the ecb governing council ’ s target rate. that domestic price pressures are still relatively muted can be attributed to a host of factors - all the more so, given that multiple countries are still feeling the after - effects of the crisis. and i ’ m not just talking about the huge piles of non - performing loans that are still saddling banks in a number of euro - area countries. viewed in isolation, those toxic legacy exposures are cramping the ability of banks to supply credit to precisely those young and dynamic enterprises that are entering the market. you could say it ’ s payback time for the failure to cleanse bank balance sheets sooner and more thoroughly. no, what i ’ m also talking about are enterprises and households across much of the euro area which are still busy scaling back what are, in some cases, high levels of debt. the fact that savings are outpacing investment in the euro area at the moment is one clear indication of the deleveraging process that is under way. yet some of the crisis - ridden countries have succeeded in stepping up their competitiveness and transforming current account deficits into surpluses. but improving price competitiveness through wage moderation naturally has a dampening impact on domestic price pressures. retrenchment efforts by general government can likewise soften the upside pressure on prices. in theory, that is. i say that because those efforts have waned perceptibly since 2013. or to put it another way – most euro - area countries are currently far removed from a concerted aus