gained pace, the number of legal proceedings against mortgage holders have also been increasing. the central bank ’ s continued role in this area is to ensure that the banks adhere to the code of conduct of mortgage arrears, meet the criteria for sustainable solutions and continue to engage with their customers to find non - repossession solutions whenever possible. the consumer protection ( regulation of credit servicing firms ) act 2015 seeks to ensure that borrowers whose loans are sold to unregulated transferees maintain the regulatory protections they had prior to the sale. bis central bankers ’ speeches it is imperative that lenders continue to work with over - indebted consumers to try to resolve any arrears situation and to achieve sustainable solutions with co - operating borrowers. clearly for many, there is no quick remedy or solution to long term arrears and careful, empathetic but realistic approaches need to be taken. i welcome the new coordinated programme of assistance for those in long - term arrears, with mabs acting as a “ one stop shop ” for borrowers in need of advice and support. for credit unions, the central bank ’ s new regulations came into effect on 1 january this year. these will enhance soundness and provide for enhanced confidence in the sector, supporting its role in providing important financial services to the community. we will continue to work with credit unions to support appropriate restructuring measures, the embedding of the strengthened regulatory framework, and to facilitate prudent and appropriate development. this is also a landmark year for the insurance sector, with the solvency ii framework going live. the “ whole balance sheet ” approach to capital calculation combined with the strong emphasis on a firm ’ s risk management and supervisory review will result in a muchtransformed regulatory and supervisory framework. this year, central bank supervisors and the supervised firms will be putting this framework into operation for the first time. in december, we released new regulations on sme lending. the regulations aim to strengthen protections for smes, while also facilitating access to credit. the regulations provide for greater transparency around the application process and the reasons for refusing credit applications, greater protections for guarantors and an expansion of the grounds for an internal appeal. there is growing international recognition that financial regulators should be more pro - active in protecting consumers, in view of the complexity, risks and costs of financial products. it is not our role to run the firms we regulate nor is it to determine their business models or strategies ( including in

meeting, the assessment of the governing council is that the monetary policy measures that have been adopted since mid - 2014 are working ; noting the increase in downside risks in recent weeks, the governing council will review and possibly reconsider the monetary policy stance in early march. in relation to the longer - term agenda for the euro area, the financial crisis also made clear that the original institutional design of the euro area suffered from a lack of risk - sharing and crisis management mechanisms. while there has been significant progress in reforming the institutional setup of the euro area, the recent five presidents ’ report highlighted that further reforms could help in improving the resilience of the monetary union. this reform agenda should be a high priority for european policymakers. our latest quarterly bulletin was published this morning. it projects that that the economy will continue to grow strongly this year, with gdp growth expected to moderate only slightly to 4. 8 per cent. this reflects the confluence of several positive factors, including the employment - rich nature of the recovery, a less constrained policy environment, the boost to purchasing power from lower energy prices, the on - going easing of the balance sheet legacies of the crisis and broadly favourable conditions in ireland ’ s main export markets. it is the positive alignment of bis central bankers ’ speeches all these factors that has helped growth to strengthen and supports a continued favourable outlook. however, while much has improved, vulnerabilities remain. the strong growth outlook provides an opportunity to address the legacies stemming from still - high levels of public and private sector indebtedness. externally, the main current global risk factor relates to economic and financial conditions in some emerging economies. closer to home, the central bank is also keeping a watchful eye on brexit - related risks to the economy and the financial system. more generally, small, highly - globalised countries such as ireland are inherently more volatile than larger economies : we can grow strongly for extended periods but are also especially vulnerable to negative shocks. for this reason, it is essential that the central bank is pro - active in the deployment of macroprudential policies that can improve resilience and mitigate the procyclical dynamics associated with excessive leverage. the new rules that impose loan - to - value and loan - to - income limits on most mortgages were introduced to protect borrowers and contribute to a safer financial system, which in turn also contributes to a more stable economy over the longer term. as i have already stated, the