see what bis central bankers ’ speeches changes come. in a period of rapid change, though, this approach would probably lead you to a dead end. if you don ’ t move forwards, you end up going backwards. take a look at the industries where digitalisation has already well and truly made its mark. whether it ’ s the photo and film industry, the music industry or the telecommunications sector, digitalisation has not only made these industries introduce a new medium, but it has also forced them to gain new core competencies. established enterprises that have been successful up until now are not necessarily failing because they are unwilling to innovate, but rather because they are not prepared to undergo a complete strategic realignment. kodak is often mentioned as a cautionary example here. as a producer of film for analogue cameras, kodak found itself in major financial difficulties when digital photography started to take over. in 2012, the company had to file an insolvency petition and only managed to survive thanks to a radical restructuring. the risk of being caught off guard goes hand in hand with time pressure. during a period of change, fundamentally new standards and new customs are formed. once the first trails have been established in the field of digitalisation, there seems to be little point worrying about plotting a course. take the area of payment transactions as an example. competitors such as paypal or recently apple have implemented payment systems tailored to consumers in the digital environment. once customers become used to a new way of paying, competitors offering similar products certainly have a difficult job trying to convince them to switch providers. with their collective push for online payment transactions, german credit institutions therefore find themselves in the unaccustomed role of the attacker. this is precisely why it ’ s so important that members of the german banking community work together to increase their chances. in summary, i can only recommend that the german banks and savings banks avoid sitting back and waiting for changes to occur, but instead that they actively and intensively tackle the issue of digitalisation and ascertain its implications for their institution. but i get the impression that there is no real tendency in germany to sit around and wait. my next message is, in short, “ learn the new game rules ”. imagine for a moment that you are a football coach. your team has all the right tactics in place and is doing well this season. next season, however, the rules of the game are set to change – perhaps the number of goals on the

that pose a risk. in complex it systems, in particular, even small system errors can quickly cause enormous damage. felix hufeld will address the topic of “ cyber risk ” in his presentation, so i will make just one final comment. it seems to me that an awareness of these risks does not yet exist at all levels of management at banks. they urgently need to catch up and vastly improve the protection of it systems and customer data. 5. conclusion ladies and gentlemen, my speech has dived briefly into the wave of digitalisation that has only recently gathered pace and that will inevitably carry the financial sector to new shores. everyone involved can benefit from digitalisation, but none more so than private customers in the short term. new technology and stronger competition mean businesses that are even better tailored to their personal needs. ladies and gentlemen, you must all work towards ensuring that germany ’ s banking sector does not remain a blank spot on the digital world map. from my point of view, this requires four things. • first, every bank needs a “ digital agenda ” and a flexible strategy. • second, every bank must find a balance between existing strengths and new types of banking business. • third, every bank must be aware of the problem of it security and must also pass this awareness on to its customers. • fourth, every bank must modernise its it infrastructure as necessary and ensure that the systems are secure. bis central bankers ’ speeches both we, as supervisors, and you, as representatives of germany ’ s banks and savings banks, have an interest in a banking system that is stable and profitable in the long term. learning to play by the new rules and actively shaping the process of change is essential if we are to stay on top of the wave of digitalisation. this applies not only to you, but also to the supervisors, because it is not just about detecting and taking advantage of new opportunities, it is also about recognising and limiting new risks. if we can achieve this, we will all successfully ride the wave of digitalisation. thank you very much for listening. the bundesbank ’ s 19th banking symposium is now underway. bis central bankers ’ speeches