that will help all of us to consider the work ahead and make us even better prepared for the implementation of the new accord by the end of 2006. indeed, those of you in the audience from institutions that anticipate adopting the most advanced approaches available when the new accord is implemented have already begun to collect and process the necessary data. you know, as well as anyone, that the required commitment is substantial, and that supervisors ’ expectations are high. reading the results of the global basel ii survey conducted by garp during the month of january, presented in your monthly newsletter, i was encouraged to see that “ most financial institutions ( 77 % ) across the globe are confident that they will achieve full compliance with the basel ii risk - capital accord in time for the 2006 implementation deadline. ” perhaps even more important is the conclusion that “ these institutions are confident that their internal risk management will be at least somewhat improved ( 86 % somewhat or greatly improved ) following the rollout of basel ii ”. this is why i think that what you will discuss at this conference mean much more than simply complying with new regulations and calculating capital requirements appropriately. we want banks to manage risks, not to manage basel ii. the essence of basel ii is not just the set of rules and formulas to calculate regulatory capital, these are necessary and very important but, in my view, the heart of basel ii is the incentives for banks and risk management professionals to advance risk management and the recognition of this progress. studying and understanding the drivers of credit, market, and operational risk, and probing the relationships between them, will help all of us to get a better sense of the risks and rewards we face today, and how well we are prepared to navigate changes in the landscape of opportunity and challenge tomorrow. improving our understanding of risk, and strengthening our ability to manage it, offers the promise not just of better administered banks, but more importantly the promise of a more stable financial system one that is better able to serve as a source of credit and sustainable growth for businesses and consumers alike. thank you again for welcoming me to this conference, and i offer my best wishes for an enjoyable and educational event.

luis m linde : the european and spanish economic situation opening address by mr luis m linde, governor of the bank of spain, at the annual economists ’ forum / consejo general de economistas, madrid, 29 may 2014. * * * i much appreciate the invitation to participate in this forum and the opportunity to share with you some brief thoughts on the european and spanish economic situation. following six quarters of negative growth, the euro area economy initiated a mild recovery in 2013 which has since continued. the recovery is essentially being underpinned by the gradual pick - up in domestic demand, after the strong adjustment it underwent during the recession. however, the latest gdp growth figure, for the first quarter of this year, illustrates the stillfragile and uneven nature of this economic improvement in the euro area. according to the provisional estimate released by eurostat, the increase in activity in the euro area as a whole in 2014 q1 was 0. 2 % in quarter - on - quarter terms, below most analysts ’ expectations. note that this rate has been affected by exceptional temporary factors in some countries. in any event, the mixed nature of the recovery is evident if we compare the strong momentum the german economy is providing to the area as a whole with the behaviour of activity in other countries such as france, where it is practically flat, or others still such as italy, the netherlands, portugal and finland, where negative figures have been posted. the ecb and the national central banks of the eurosystem are finalising a new projection exercise, whose results will be published in early june. that will be the time to assess the effects that this first - quarter figure and all the new information compiled since the last exercise may have exerted on the baseline scenario for gdp growth in the coming quarters. as you know, in any event, the procedural rules for the ecb governing council set a brief period immediately before each of the monetary policy meetings in which the members, myself among them, must not make any statement that may be interpreted as pre - judging in any way the outcome of the meeting. you will therefore understand if i abstain from making any further assessment in relation to this scenario. in terms of employment, last year also saw a turnaround and the job destruction phase in the euro area touched bottom in the second quarter. but the still - moderate recovery has not yet provided for significant improvements in employment levels, meaning that hours worked in the labour market remain far below the historical average and