which i will elaborate. the macro accelerator is a collective economic strategy in the euro area. it is premised on one simple fact : economic growth and employment would be stronger in the euro area if we combined more reforms in countries where they are needed, like france or italy, and more stimulus in countries with leeway for it, like germany or the netherlands. to achieve this, euro area member states have to seal a deal, which could be prepared and adopted as early as 2018. national reforms are obviously a prerequisite to any enhancement of the economic union. i take this opportunity to welcome the successful reforms carried out in the netherlands in recent years, especially in the labour market. real gdp is expected to grow here by 3. 2 % in 2017 and the unemployment rate is likely to reach 4. 8 % in 2017, close to full employment. stepping up reforms is now a priority in france too, with a focus on two main areas : on the one hand, sustainably consolidating our public finances, and on the other, aiming to achieve a structural economic transformation, with a major simplification effort in the labour market, and large - scale investment in education, vocational training and apprenticeships. the new government, under mr macron ’ s presidency, has made decisive steps in that direction with the labour market reform voted this summer and already implemented, and a forthcoming reform of unemployment insurance, vocational training and apprenticeship next year. at the same time, measures have been taken to reduce the tax burden on investment. moreover, decisions have been taken to reduce the government deficit. for the first time in 10 years, the government deficit should be below the threshold of 3 % of gdp in 2017 ( 2. 9 % ). the micro accelerator : a financing union for investment and innovation let me now focus on the micro accelerator for the economic union, which is the second concentric circle. this micro accelerator would take the form of what i call a “ financing union for investment and innovation ”. the euro area is experiencing an excess of savings relative to investment of about 350 billion euros per year, which is more than 3 % of gdp. the aim of such a financing union is to better steer these savings towards productive investment, notably by shoring up equity which is the key to an innovation economy. several key initiatives contribute to this financing union and already exist : ( i ) the capital markets union, which promotes the diversification of private financing ; ( ii ) the juncker investment plan

the superintendent of financial institutions announced enhanced guidelines for low - ratio mortgages that are similar to the changes announced for mortgage insurance last autumn. there will be restrictions on borrowing from multiple sources to finance a purchase, and borrowers will have to show that they could handle higher interest rates. that is just good practice for anybody who is taking on new debt. while we can be confident that the new rules will help mitigate this vulnerability, their precise impact will depend on how both borrowers and lenders respond. we will be watching this closely when the guidelines come into effect next year. another important development since june is the bank ’ s tightening of monetary policy through two interest - rate increases, which came in the context of improving economic fundamentals. the effect of these moves on mortgages is complex. roughly 15 per cent of borrowers have floatingrate mortgages, and they felt the impact immediately. however, interest rates on fixed - rate mortgages only change when they are renewed, and about half of all mortgages will not reset for more than a year. some of those that will reset next year could even see their interest rate decline, depending on their term. improvements in the labour market, particularly stronger wage 1 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches growth, should help households adjust to higher interest rates. but clearly, this is another area we will watch closely. the second vulnerability, imbalances in the housing market, has also been affected by recent changes in government policy. price growth has slowed in the greater toronto area after the ontario government introduced policies aimed at housing affordability. this slowing pulled down national house price growth to an annual rate of 10 per cent. the toronto - area market is following a pattern similar to what took place in the greater vancouver area last year, where resales fell sharply and new listings rose after the b. c. government announced a tax on non - resident buying. it is worth noting that prices in the vancouver area are once again growing more quickly than the national average. the bank will continue to monitor housing market imbalances closely, particularly for signs of extrapolative expectations. higher interest rates and stricter mortgage - finance rules should also help mitigate this vulnerability. however, the economic fundamentals of the canadian housing market remain strong. demand is being supported by increases in employment and population, and supply is being held back by basic geography and restrictions on land use. the third vulnerability i will quickly mention is related to cyber security. there has been a worldwide