jean - claude trichet : celebration of 130th anniversary of the bulgarian national bank speech by mr jean - claude trichet, president of the european central bank, at the gala event of the celebration of 130th anniversary of the bulgarian national bank, sofia, 12 june 2009. * * * dear president, dear prime minister, your excellencies, dear governor iskrov, ladies and gentlemen, it is a great honour and a pleasure for me to be here this evening and to address you on the occasion of the 130th anniversary of the bulgarian national bank. i should like to start by thanking my colleague, governor iskrov for inviting me to do so. the bulgarian national bank has good reasons to proudly celebrate this historical date : the achievements during the last 130 years have been many. the bulgarian national bank, like most of the other central banks with a long history, did not arise as the institution we know today. it has evolved over time. since its establishment in january 1879 as a government credit institution with an authorised capital of two million french francs, the bulgarian national bank has come a long way. progressively, it acquired new and increasingly complex functions and duties. it has also established over time close relationships with the rest of the banking and financial system, both at home and in the international sphere. being the guarantor of the bulgarian people ’ s money, the bulgarian national bank has become one of the most respected public institutions in this country. during its long existence, the bulgarian national bank has been confronted with several challenges, some of them of great significance. equally, since 1881, the year of the introduction of the lev – which i have been told in ancient bulgarian means “ lion ” –, the bulgarian national bank has to deal with several major institutional changes. the most recent took place in 1997 when a currency board arrangement to the deutsche mark was adopted. in 1999, the latter was replaced by the euro. before the actual accession of bulgaria into the eu, a cooperation agreement was signed by the ecb and the bulgarian national bank in january 2005. moreover, under the leadership of governor iskrov, the ecb and the bulgarian national bank worked intensively together on the bulgarian national bank ’ s law to bring the independence of the central bank generally in line with eu legislation however, some additional changes still need to be made to ensure that legislation in the monetary field is fully in line with the provisions of the treaty. following bulgaria ’ s entry into the eu on 1 january 2007

philipp hildebrand : the global financial crisis – analysis and outlook summary of a speech by mr philipp hildebrand, vice - chairman of the governing board of the swiss national bank, at the nzz - podium, zurich, 5 february 2009. the complete speech can be found in german on the swiss national bank ’ s website ( www. snb. ch ). * * * we are currently experiencing the most severe and most complex financial crisis in several decades. it has affected many people around the globe, and finger - pointing and casting blame happen all too easily. yet only a careful investigation of the responsibilities is likely to point to ways in which our financial system, and ultimately our economy, can be made more resilient once this crisis has been overcome. financial markets react to incentives, and these incentives were misplaced in the past. it is in our power to start lobbying for clearly defined and risk - limiting conditions. if the responsible authorities wish to enact more stringent regulation, we ought to give them our unconditional support. the national bank is determined to employ all the means at its disposal to ward off an economic contraction.