the preexisting capital buffers available in the banking system, globally and in switzerland, played a key role in this regard. the continued credit flow, together with extensive public support measures, helped firms and households bridge their income and liquidity shortfalls. hence, concerns that the economic shock from the pandemic would be amplified by banks scaling back their lending have not materialised. a qualitative survey launched by the snb in 2020 shows in fact that loan rejection rates did not increase significantly, even in the most acute phase of the pandemic, and virtually no banks reported their own capital situation as a factor limiting credit supply. 11 macroprudential policy beyond the pandemic we have seen so far that macroprudential policy can help to contain the build - up of vulnerabilities and strengthen banking sector resilience. the pandemic has moreover shown us that a well - capitalised banking sector can dampen the economic impact of shocks, contributing to a faster recovery. so where do we stand today? according to our monetary policy assessment last week, the global economic recovery is expected to continue, although somewhat subdued by the economic consequences of the war in ukraine. at the same time however, financial system vulnerabilities are increasing. several national authorities and international institutions have highlighted stretched valuations, in particular in real estate markets, and are pointing to high levels of corporate and sovereign indebtedness. let me elaborate further, focusing on real estate markets. as we discussed earlier, these markets are mostly credit financed so that cf. for instance 2021 stress tests conducted by the eba ( eba publishes the results of its 2021 eu - wide stress test | european banking authority ( europa. eu ), consulted on 21 march 2022 ), and the fed ( federal reserve board - federal reserve board releases results of annual bank stress tests, which show that large banks continue to have strong capital levels and could continue lending to households and businesses during a severe recession, consulted on 21 march 2022 ). cf. imf, global financial stability report, october 2021. cf. snb, financial stability report, 2021, chapter 2. 2. corrections in real estate prices represent a key source of risk from a financial stability perspective. in several countries, real estate price growth has increased since the start of the pandemic, and has been higher than can be explained by fundamental factors. for instance, the residential price - to - rent ratio, a

niklaus blattner : it in the financial sector - aspects of regulation and supervision summary of a speech by mr niklaus blattner, vice - chairman of the governing board of the swiss national bank, at 8. berner tagung fur informationssicherheit ( 8th conference on information security ), berne, 29 november 2005. the complete speech can be found in german on the swiss national bank ’ s website ( www. snb. ch ). * * * the completeness, integrity, traceability and constant availability of data that has been securely processed are essential in order for the financial system to function smoothly. the swiss federal banking commission ( sfbc ) supervises banks and securities dealers domiciled in switzerland. its microprudential supervision focuses on the individual financial institution, in particular with regard to the protection of creditors and investors. by contrast, it is the task of the swiss national bank ( snb ) to contribute to the stability of the financial system, i. e. it is engaged in macroprudential oversight. banking legislation provisions governing the it organisation requirements of a financial intermediary do not explicitly address the topic of information security, but rather focus on the notion of “ proper and rightful conduct of business ”. for the sfbc, information security is merely one concern among others. in one of its circulars it has, however, addressed several critical areas in greater detail, e. g. on the topic of external data management and outsourcing. the snb ’ s mandate is limited to the payment and securities settlement systems. in its oversight function, the snb focuses on systems which might constitute a potential threat to the stability of the swiss financial system. the snb ’ s objectives with regard to information security include the following : security policy and organisation, physical and staff security, system operation, system development and maintenance, communication and information exchange and – last but not least – business continuity management. similar to the sfbc, the snb basically pursues a dualistic approach, i. e. it relies primarily on the results of internal and external audits. any supplemental, cross - system measures must be jointly coordinated and synchronised by all the major players. the steering group “ business continuity planning ” ( bcp ), headed by the snb, assumes this function and examined the business continuity plans developed in the individual companies. the report reveals that a great deal of progress has been made with regard to the bc