community engagement and financial inclusion in low - and moderate - income communities. second, the new cra rule should address the significant changes in the banking sector since the regulations were last substantially revised more than a quarter century ago. this involves evaluation of online and mobile banking, branchless banking, and hybrid models. third, the new cra rule should provide greater clarity, consistency, and transparency so that everyone - the public, community groups, and banks - understands what counts for cra consideration and how a bank's rating is determined. as you saw in the proposal, 1 / 2 bis - central bankers'speeches the agencies are working to develop a metrics - based approach to cra evaluations for retail lending and community development financing to bring greater clarity and consistency to cra examinations, while still ensuring that there is an opportunity to consider qualitative factors to encourage activities that are particularly impactful or responsive. and fourth, the new cra rule should align evaluations and data collection to bank size and type. one of the strengths of the banking sector is its diversity of institutions, so a modern cra must accommodate banks of different sizes and business models and ensure that smaller banks do not have the same requirements as large banks with much greater capacity. i know that many of you are eagerly awaiting the new cra rule. let me assure you that all three agencies are diligently working together to craft a final rule in light of the extensive public comments we received on our proposal. once finalized, it is my hope and belief that this new cra final rule will support more impactful bank lending, investing, and services in today's banking environment for the communities you faithfully serve. i hope you have an excellent conference, and i look forward to interacting with many of you in person so i can learn from you what works to create economic opportunities for families and communities. 2 / 2 bis - central bankers'speeches

##forcing the fiscal pillar of governance, which is the stability and growth pact, and by creating a new pillar of governance, namely a strong surveillance of competitiveness indicators and imbalances. there is a third pillar of governance of the economic union in the emu, which is as important for the european union as a whole as it is for emu : the structural reforms embedded in the “ europe 2020 ” strategy. these structural reforms are essential to elevate the growth potential of the single market of europe as well as of the single market with a single currency. the council has recognised the need for stronger rules for fiscal policy and the necessity of a new surveillance framework for macroeconomic imbalances. but in my view, it does not go far enough. the proposals currently on the table should be strengthened to reach this very significant jump towards closer economic union that is required. the ecb strongly believes that more ambitious reforms are needed for the euro area and it is convinced that the trialogue between the council, the commission and the parliament will permit the parliament to significantly improve the texts that were presented to it. this is much more than a simple procedural concern. stronger economic governance is essential to support the fundamental construction of emu. a union with a centralised monetary policy but decentralised economic policies needs appropriate mechanisms to balance the independence of countries and their economic interdependence. conclusion it is essential when discussing economic and monetary union to take an appropriately broad view. emu is a major step in a major long historical process that cannot be judged solely on the basis of passing events, of l ’ histoire evenementielle. that said, how the euro area responds to the challenges of the “ epoque ” it is currently facing together with all other advanced economies, will influence the historical trajectory of europe. the key question is whether governments can put in place a very significantly reinforced governance of their economic union in order to reap the full benefits of the single currency. this will determine whether the new “ epoque ” which is ahead of us after the crisis is a time of economic and financial stability, of sustained growth and of sustained job creation. it will also be decisive in giving a direction to the historical evolution of europe in the perspective of the “ longue duree ”. the historical stakes are important. either we prove that we are able to find the new strong reinforced governance concept, which will fit with a constellation of sovereign states and bis central bankers ’ speeches