to tell you that dnb has its own network for homosexual and lesbian employees and that, for the third time, dnb will participate with its own boat in the canal parade as part of the amsterdam gay pride celebration. the talent to the top charter let me tell you about an interesting dutch initiative, launched in 2007 by the government, corporate sector and women ’ s representatives : the talent to the top charter. the idea behind the charter is to bring more talented women to the top and help keep them there. the netherlands was lagging behind internationally in respect of the number of women in top bis central bankers ’ speeches management positions. in 2008, the signatories reported that the number of women in top functions at their organisations was 16. 7 %. their aim is to bring this figure up to 24. 6 %. the talent to the top charter has since been signed by almost 170 organisations, including dnb in 2008. commitment by dnb by signing the charter, we committed ourselves to realising and preserving a continuous smooth flow of women into top positions. here is an overview of the exact percentages at dnb over the past few years. a commission will monitor whether we actually honour our commitment as a signatory. starting from the year 2009, when women were underrepresented at 28 %, dnb has set itself a target that women will fill 32 % of its management positions in 2012. it ’ s important to note that at that moment – in 2009 – there were not many women whose potential talent had been recognised and who were being groomed for a managerial position. so what is dnb ’ s vision and policy to meet the challenge of increasing gender diversity. what measures have been taken to realise this vision? i ’ d like to share our experiences and the lessons we have learnt in the process. dnb ’ s vision and objectives in the context of our commitment to the talent to the top charter, we have set some target figures for 2012. these clear and measurable targets show where we are heading, but are not an end in themselves. the slide shows the situation in 2004, where we are now, and our target for 2012. the target for divisional directors is set at 25 %, for department heads at 30 % and for section heads at 40 %. dnb ’ s governing board has expressly committed itself to these targets and the supervisory board is given an annual update on progress towards them. dnb has translated this vision into several diversity targets. within d

policy implies that the ecb will maintain a large portfolio of assets on its balance sheet for a pronounced period of time. alongside low policy rates this will ensure that financial conditions will remain accommodative even when the net asset purchases have been reduced to zero. this way monetary policy will continue to support the economy and a gradual increase of inflation to levels consistent with our aim over the medium - term. second, some have looked at the recent appreciation of the exchange rate of the euro as a source of concern. and indeed, excessive exchange rate volatility and overshooting can be detrimental to economic growth and price stability. however, it is often overlooked that exchange rates move endogenously in response to changes in the economic outlook and market sentiment. for example, the recent appreciation of the euro area reflects to an important extent a more benign assessment of the economic outlook vis - a - vis the rest of the world. and safe - haven capital inflows have also increased in response to increased political uncertainty in other major economies. through this lens, the appreciation of the euro should be considered a reflection of the relative strength and stability of the euro area economy. a clear indicator of the factors that underlie the reduced necessity of continued asset purchases that i have outlined earlier. all supporting the call for a gradual but decisive rebalancing away from non - standard towards traditional instruments of monetary policy. tilting the broader policy mix thus, monetary policy has played and will continue to play its part in helping to keep the economy at solid footing. by itself, however, monetary policy is not enough to achieve and maintain sustainable economic growth. indeed, structural factors play a key role in the low prospects for growth. calling for yet another reorientation of macroeconomic policies. let me explain this in more detail in the remainder of this talk. many countries have failed to adapt to the changing environment in recent decades, most importantly in terms of technological progress and globalisation. in addition, the monetary union removed the exchange rate as an adjustment mechanism for member states. by 1999 it was clear that several member states needed structural reforms to strengthen alternative adjustment mechanisms, like wage and price flexibility. in practise, however, structural differences between emu countries have not lessened, unlike in the rest of the eu. the lack of structural convergence has had important real effects. since 1999, income differences between the initial emu member states have not been reduced. the structural nature of the disappointing growth in the emu calls