european central bank press conference introductory statements introductory statements given by dr willem f duisenberg, president of the european central bank, and mr christian noyer, vice - president of the european central bank, at the press conference, held in frankfurt on 2 december 1999. * * * ladies and gentlemen, the vice - president and i are here today to report on the outcome of today ’ s meetings of the general council and the governing council of the ecb, the latter of which was attended by mr niinisto, president of the eu council. let me first report that the governing council decided to confirm the reference value for monetary growth, namely an annual growth rate of 4½ % for the broad aggregate m3. this decision was taken on the grounds that the components underlying the derivation of the first reference value in december 1998, namely the eurosystem ’ s definition of price stability and the assumptions for trend real gdp growth and the trend decline in m3 income velocity, have remained unchanged. as before, the governing council will assess monetary developments in relation to the reference value on the basis of a three - month moving average of annual growth rates. the governing council has decided henceforth to review the reference value on a regular annual basis, with the next review to take place in december 2000. against this background, the governing council wishes to emphasise that the trend growth potential of the euro area could be considerably enhanced by structural reform in the labour and goods markets. the eurosystem ’ s monetary policy strategy would take such changes into account, as appropriate. the derivation of the reference value of 4½ % is an expression of a medium - term - oriented approach. the generous liquidity situation in 1999 will have to be borne in mind. the ecb will issue a press release today providing some background information on the review of the reference value carried out today by the governing council. the press release will also recall the role of the reference value within the eurosystem ’ s monetary policy strategy. the governing council also conducted its regular review of the outlook for price developments and the risks to price stability in the euro area, this time including a review of the most recent forecasts and projections. after this examination, the interest rate on the main refinancing operations of the eurosystem was left at 3. 0 % and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and on the deposit facility were maintained at 4. 0 % and 2. 0 % respectively. allow me to outline the main elements of

regtech from the trade - off between the need for organizations to stay compliant with the rapidly changing regulations and the need to remain profitable, while suptech is focusing on the challenges faced by supervisory agencies2. the payment infrastructure is one of the examples where innovation has developed quickly with payment tools available directly through an app on a smartphone or even on a smartwatch nowadays. the issuance of central bank digital currency, which is a digital version of cash, could be seen as a natural consequence of the broader process of digitization of the financial system. in a world where assets are being traded electronically and payments are being made with smartphones, should there only be room for physical cash? central bank digital currency ladies and gentlemen, distributed ledger technology is currently reshaping the financial system and is here to stay in one form or another. if this financial revolution is not embraced by regulators, private players will continue to innovate and drive the development of alternative 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches technologies, new payment methods, and digital currencies. central banks need to become active shapers in the current debate to fulfill their mandates and drive change as active agents rather than passive bystanders. given some of the shortcomings of cryptocurrencies pointed out by the bis, some people have supported the idea of central banks issuing their own digital forms of currency as more stable and reliable alternatives to cryptocurrencies. let ’ s face it : a central bank digital currency could overcome the volatility risks of an unbacked asset with no intrinsic value. in addition, central banks are in better position to develop a robust financial infrastructure that provides a secure environment for both domestic and cross - border transactions. with the recent shift in the interest of central banks, it is not unthinkable to assume that digital cash will one day dominate the payment infrastructure. financial innovation ladies and gentlemen, as i noted a few minutes ago, the fintech industry is designing new services that better adapt to users ’ needs in order to expand its business. in doing so, fintechs try to find the right balance between the opportunities in the market place and the financial regulation they have to comply with. however, fintech will aim at enhancing profitability and, therefore, may not have the right incentives to reach a socially viable equilibrium. the greatest challenge for central banks is to find the right balance between the clear benefits that financial innovations have on growth and identifying and mitigating the associated