francois villeroy de galhau : financing of very small enterprises ( vses ) introductory speech by mr francois villeroy de galhau, governor of the bank of france, at the symposium on the financing of very small enterprises ( vses ), organised by the bank of france in conjunction with the federation of approved management centres, paris, 15 january 2016. * * * ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the banque de france for this symposium on the financing of very small enterprises or vses. it was conceived and organised in conjunction with the federation of approved management centres, and i would like to extend my warmest thanks to them, and in particular to their president yves marmont. i am very pleased to have developed such a close and lasting relationship with your organisation, which plays a vital role in supporting smes and vses. this event would also have been impossible without the help of the individuals and organisations who have agreed to take part in our three round tables today, and i would like to thank them sincerely for their contribution. it is a particular pleasure for me to be able to open this symposium today. as you know, just a few months ago, i had the honour of submitting a report to the prime minister on the financing of business investment, the first proposed recommendation of which was to “ improve access to credit for very small businesses, especially cash loans ”. this is our focus today. although my role has changed since then, my belief in the fundamental importance of this issue remains the same. indeed, my conviction has been reinforced by the banque de france ’ s own commitment to supporting vses, both at a central level and through its local presence in france ’ s regions. one of the main advantages of this nationwide network is that it makes it easier to listen to and support local businesses, the majority of which are clearly vses. through its local branch network, the banque de france is responsible for dealing with credit mediation applications. it provides valuable insight for economic and social actors by publishing statistics on vses, and is the only central bank in the eurosystem to publish data in this level of detail. in addition, the banque de france conducts studies into vse finances and their positioning in the french economic landscape. clearly, this symposium is not just a one - off event reflecting a passing interest in a subject that ’ s currently in the spotlight. in fact, it is part of an ongoing and enduring initiative, and will provide additional impetus to

to significant savings in the business - to - business supply chain. one of the implications of this increase in the availability of information is a great improvement in inventory management. the optimal level of inventories is becoming smaller, so that the real economy reacts faster to demand and / or supply shocks, reducing both the length and the width of the cycle. and shorter cycles make for a more effective monetary policy. krugman, p. “ crisis : the price of globalization? ” paper presented at jackson hole, wyoming, 2000. world economic outlook, may 2001, chapter iii : “ three current policy issues : impact of the global technology correction on the real economy ”, page. 57 - 66. brookings institution ( 2001 ) : “ the economic payoff from the internet ”. www. brook. edu / es / research / areas / it / ipibisummary. htm. blinder, alan ( 2000 ) : “ the internet and the new economy ”, brookings institution policy brief n°60, june. altig d. y peter rupert ( 1999 ) : “ growth and the internet : surfing to prosperity? ”, federal reserve bank of cleveland economic commentary, september. for instance, robert gordon ( does the “ new economy ” measure up to the great inventions of the past? journal of economic perspectives, fall 2000 ) mentioned “ the new economy has meant little to the 88 percent of the economy outside of durable manufacturing ; in part of the economy, trend growth in multifactor productivity has actually decelerated, despite a massive investment boom in computers and related equipment ”. page 72. optimal inventory management in an increasingly open international economy will not only imply shorter, but also, most probably, more synchronic cycles. a by - product of this development is an expansion of the geographical limits of optimum currency areas a la mundell. 3. terms of trade shocks and emerging economies the synchronization of the cycle increases volatility in commodity markets, an important source of international transmission of the cycle to a good number of emerging economies. the synchronization and shortening of cycles will probably also increase the volatility of international interest rates. economies with liquidity constraints and limited access to international financial markets will suffer the most. the policy prescription here is to strengthen fundamentals and open and deepen the integration of both product and capital markets with the rest of the world. the effect of synchronization and shortening of