before the business case for a common eurosystem collateral management system can be reconsidered. at present, we are in the design phase of our project, where we define the services required for each of the four action points. when it comes to assessing possible technical solutions for the envisaged developments, we consider dlt as one of several possibilities and analyse whether at this stage the use of dlt could lead to lower costs and a more resilient and legally sound market infrastructure. but even if, ultimately, dlt emerged as technically superior in terms of safety and efficiency, we will also have to reflect on the wider implications of the use of this technology for the role of central bank money. part 2 : implications of the use of dlt as financial market infrastructure for the central bank let ’ s assume for a moment that the eurosystem ’ s market infrastructure, i. e. t2 and t2s, is moved to dlt. the key question that would result from such a move is how central bank money is put into the ledger or, more specifically, which entities can access the central bank money on the ledger. remember the discussion on the interface model, when it was argued that central bank accounts cannot be outsourced. access to the ledger for payments and securities settlement could be restricted to banks, or to banks and market infrastructure providers such as central securities depositories ( csds ), maybe extended to central counterparties ( ccps ) and automated clearing houses ( achs ). consequently, these would be the only entities that have access to the central bank digital currency on the ledger. but why stop here? what if this concept is broadened? what if psp or even individuals could access the central bank digital currency on the ledger via their bank accounts? this scenario would preserve the current relationship model of banks with central banks and to some extent also the existing organisational structure of the financial ecosystem. even more far - reaching, we could envision a third scenario of the central bank offering a dlt network that is open to all citizens. citizens would have the choice to hold commercial bank deposits with banks or digital currency at the central bank. what functions would be embedded in a central bank deposit account? how would this affect the bank ’ s ability to give loans? how will the monetary transmission mechanism work and the economy at large if the basic business model of many banks could be impaired? but not only banks might be impacted. what is the impact

compared with sars. when that disease broke out 17 years ago, it triggered a sharp slowdown, but the effect passed relatively quickly, because sars was soon brought under control. no - one can credibly say at the moment whether this time will be worse or not. the ecb hasn ’ t changed its forecasts so far, at least. the next projections will be published in march. we will be monitoring developments very closely until then. your personal situation has changed a lot since you joined the ecb. what has been the biggest change in your daily work? i have to say, it is a very intensive job. i ’ ve always had a very full calendar, including during my time on the council of economic experts. it was particularly stressful when the council was preparing its annual report. we referred to that period as the “ campaign ”. i currently feel as if i ’ m in a kind of permanent campaign. 4 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches