for the executive - in terms of effective management rather than new legislation. as the prime minister rightly declared recently, " the time has come for proof on the ground, rather than legislative cathedral building ". xii i am well aware of the risk of appearing to give easy or excessively theoretical lessons, but i speak here with the conviction of the practitioner and even - if you will allow me in this last part of my speech with the passion of the public servant. public management is not necessarily an easy task, but it is possible. calling for the transformation of public services today means refusing to become resigned to a public service that is seen as outdated and unable to cope. i believe in the public service as a national asset : throughout our long history, from bonaparte to charles de gaulle, public services have frequently been a catalyst for unity, modernity and even productivity. transforming public services can and must serve to boost france ’ s competitiveness. xiii pious hopes? no! there are perfectly good examples of modernisation of public services here in france, even in the very recent past. we could talk about our army, but i'll start with the current public accounts directorate ( direction generale des finances publiques ), formed from the merger of the national tax office and the national public accounts office ( direction generale des impots and direction generale de la comptabilite publique ). this has improved the quality of service provided, especially to private individuals, with the introduction page 15 of 19 of a sole point of contact for tax matters and the massive development of precompleted online tax returns, while simultaneously achieving significant economies of scale by pooling support functions ( a 6 % decrease in financial resources between 2009 and 2016, a 17 % decrease in staff numbers over the same period ). xiv the public taxation and tax collection service currently boasts the highest level of customer satisfaction ( 82 % ) xv. withholding tax is one of its most recent major successes. the banque de france is another modest example of the transformation of public services ; for a number of years, we have been providing more services, reducing costs, while maintaining a nationwide presence. we have increased the services we provide : economic and financial literacy for all citizens since 2016 ; commitment to green finance since 2017 – here we are recognised as the leading central bank within the g20 - ; national credit mediation since 2019 ; a multi - channel offering - including internet and telephone services - for all of our public services.

costs, difficulty of access to credit and, in sum, lower employment and growth. the single supervisory mechanism as you are aware, the start - up of the single supervisory mechanism, the first pillar of the banking union, is at a very advanced stage following the entry into force, just a few days back, of the community regulation creating it. currently, intense preparatory work is under way, and i can assure you this poses a significant organisational challenge. a key element is to establish an appropriate governance structure combining the leadership of the ecb in the supervisory function with the involvement of the national authorities, all the while ensuring that the assumption of prudential functions by the ecb does not clash with its monetary policy responsibilities. supervisory powers will mainly be channelled through the supervisory board, whose chairperson and vice - chairperson, along with the representatives of the national authorities, have already been appointed. the board will convene for the first time this very week. the four directors - general of the ecb responsible for supervision have already been designated, one of whom is the current director - general of banking supervision of the banco de espana, which is a cause of satisfaction for our institution. the selection processes for the remaining management positions will continue over the coming months. thanks to the work by several groups of experts, two essential pieces of the future mechanism are at an advanced stage. these are, namely : the framework regulation that will define the supervisory function, its internal organisation and the assignment of responsibilities among the various authorities making up the mechanism ; and the supervisory manual, which will precisely set out the procedures to be followed by all the members of the mechanism, including naturally the supervisory personnel of the national authorities. the ecb and the national authorities are also working on developing the comprehensive assessment of credit institutions in the participating countries, which began last november and will be completed before the ecb assumes supervisory powers. this assessment will include an asset quality review, performed with the help of auditors or external consultants, and subsequent stress tests, which will be conducted in collaboration with the european banking authority ( eba ). shortly, the thrust of the design of these two exercises will be made public, although certain features are already known, such as the minimum capital ratio that will be required in the accounting review phase and which stands at 8 % of common equity tier 1 capital ( cet1 ), according to the definition established in the community regulations, including the envisaged timetable for the application of the various deduction