the european financial sector, while home bias and wide differences in corporate funding costs remain persistent. so why is realizing the cmu so challenging? first of all it is not always clear what barriers stand in the way of market development and integration. this is because capital markets are much more heterogeneous than banks. so to push the cmu ahead, you likely need a mosaic of small but interlocking measures. the nextcmu working group, followed by the high - level forum, have already laid important groundwork on identifying such measures. another challenge is that competing national interests make realizing the cmu difficult. even though all member states acknowledge the benefits of the cmu, specific measures often cannot muster enough error! unknown document property name. political support. this is to some extent understandable, as many of the regulations relevant for cmu have been put in place to serve other public objectives as well. i think insolvency law is a case in point. i am happy to see the european commission has recently launched a new action plan to push ahead with capital markets union. although i am not directly involved in further developing these proposals, allow me to share three observations on what i think is necessary : first, we need to prioritize. the list of potential benefits of the cmu is long. as a consequence, the goals that member states pursue through the cmu can diverge widely. in the new action plan, the european commission has already brought more focus in the debate by separating initiatives on for instance digitalization. the next step would be to further flesh out the measures that should be prioritized in order to bring the cmu ahead. i am optimistic that the commission together with the member states will succeed in doing this in the next months. second, we need to focus on further harmonization of market practices, rules and regulations. divergence between national frameworks in the eu is often the most cited barrier to cross - border investments. for instance, the disparity between rules and practices regarding insolvency frameworks remains sizable between member states. the speed of resolving insolvency procedures can vary within the eu between five months and more than 3 years. different rules lead to uncertainty on the relevant rights and obligations. i admit that harmonization of these frameworks is sensitive and complex. furthermore, as i mentioned earlier, national insolvency frameworks are often designed with other public goals in mind as well. yet if we really want

a cmu, we need to take action in these fields. this could be done by focusing on harmonization or minimum standards of specific elements, for instance the length of procedures. third, we must value all steps in the right direction, even the small ones. the functioning of capital markets is complex, and different types of players are involved. it is likely that there is not one single initiative that will make the difference. rather, obstacles need to disappear gradually, similar to the single market. to give just one example : we have to increase the availability and comparability of firm information, for instance through a single access point. information is now frequently scattered between national registries, and this is therefore a crucial step towards a more integrated market. however, this requires intermediate steps to be taken first, for instance the harmonization of definitions. to finish up the new cmu action plan shows ambition and the scope of proposals is right. taken together, these proposals mark an important step in further developing and integrating our capital markets. i am also pleased to note that many of the attendees here today have spoken in favor of the need for further steps in realizing the cmu. the momentum definitely seems to be there. at the same time, various proposals remain sensitive, complex and can be difficult to realize. we thus need member states to be ambitious and commit to reforms. we also need supervisors and industry representatives to keep thinking along on how we can make capital markets function better. in europe we have seen time and time again that we can converge in pursuit of a common goal if we are really committed. my hope would be that the cmu will be the next exposition of that quality. and that in the future the rail tracks of our capital markets will seamlessly fit together. let me stop here and thank you all again for being here today. i look forward to a fruitful exchange of insights and ideas.