vitor constancio : effectiveness of monetary union and the capital markets union contribution of mr vitor constancio, vice - president of the european central bank, for the magazine of the eurofi conference in malta ( 5 - 7 april 2017 ), 4 april 2017. * * * the euro area recovery is continuing at a moderate, but firming pace, and is broadening gradually across sectors and countries. the ecb ’ s monetary policy measures have been a key contributor to these positive developments, and the only expansionary macroeconomic policy in support of the recovery. real gdp growth has expanded for 15 consecutive quarters, growing by 0. 5 % during the final quarter of 2016. dispersion in growth rates across euro area countries has fallen. economic sentiment is at its highest level in nearly six years. the unemployment rate is back down to single - digit figures and over four million more europeans are employed now than three years ago. since the onset of the crisis, the ecb has put in place a number of conventional and unconventional monetary policy measures to stimulate the economy and rehabilitate the monetary transmission mechanism, which had become impaired at the height of the crisis. this comprehensive range of measures has worked its way through the financial system, leading to a significant easing of financing conditions for consumers and firms. together with improving financial and non - financial sector balance sheets, this has strengthened credit dynamics and supported domestic demand. bank lending rates for both euro area households and non - financial corporations have fallen by over 110 basis points since june 2014. lending rates for small and medium - sized enterprises, which provide two - thirds of total private sector employment in the euro area, have declined by over 180 basis points. the sharp reduction in bank lending rates has been accompanied by easier access to funding, as recent ecb surveys on bank lending and access to finance have shown. but it is not just lending rates that are more favourable. bank lending volumes have also been gradually recovering since early 2014. annual growth in credit to euro area households increased in january to 2. 2 % and growth in credit to businesses remained at 2. 3 % – the highest growth rates in more than four years. market - based funding conditions, too, have improved significantly in response to the corporate sector purchase programme launched in june 2016. while monetary policy has been the mainstay of the recovery, there are other potential sources of macroeconomic stabilisation. given the heterogeneity of countries across the euro area, the lack

frederic s mishkin : systemic risk and the international lender of last resort remarks by mr frederic s mishkin, member of the board of governors of the us federal reserve system, at the tenth annual international banking conference, federal reserve bank of chicago, chicago, 28 september 2007. the original speech, which contains various links to the documents mentioned, can be found on the us federal reserve system ’ s website. * * * after the calm of the past several years, the events of this summer are a strong reminder that our increasingly globalized and sophisticated markets are still vulnerable to systemic risk. when we speak of systemic risk, we mean the risk of a sudden, usually unexpected, disruption of information flows in financial markets that prevents them from channeling funds to those who have the most productive profit opportunities. we have seen how systemic risk, when it becomes especially severe, can result in financial crises – the seizing up of financial markets – which can have potentially important economic consequences. we have also seen how governments, in their role as providers of emergency liquidity, can intervene to help put the financial system back on its feet and prevent a financial crisis from spinning out of control. 1 in mature industrial economies, domestic central banks have the credibility and the resources to play this role. around the world, central banks have injected liquidity and signaled that credit would be available to those institutions and markets that need it. at other times, as well, the federal reserve has acted successfully to prevent potentially devastating financial seizures : notably, after the stock market crash of october 19, 1987, and after the terrorist attacks of september 11, 2001. given the current focus on systemic risk, i would like to talk about an issue that i wrote about extensively before coming to the board of governors : financial instability in emerging - market countries. ( please note that my comments here reflect my own views and not necessarily those of the board of governors or the federal reserve system. ) the need for emergency liquidity assistance in times of financial instability is just as strong, and arguably stronger, in emerging - market countries, in part because their less - developed financial markets, weaker institutions, and lack of easily available information often make these countries especially vulnerable to systemic risk. such risk can be elevated and financial instability triggered by several factors : shocks related to weak domestic institutions and policies, swings in world commodity prices, contagion from other emerging markets, and, turmoil originating in the industrial countries. 2 developing economies have made great strides over the