vitor constancio : presentation of the european central bank annual report 2015 to the committee on economic and monetary affairs of the european parliament introductory remarks by mr vitor constancio, vice - president of the european central bank, to the committee on economic and monetary affairs of the european parliament, brussels, 7 april 2016. * * * mr chairman, honourable members of the committee on economic and monetary affairs, ladies and gentlemen, i am honoured to once again present the ecb ’ s 2015 annual report to your committee. please allow me to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt thoughts, and those of the ecb ’ s executive board and ecb staff, for the victims of the recent attacks in brussels, in the heart of europe. our thoughts are also with their families and friends. events like this remind us that europe must stand together. and our institutions have a role to play in this respect. the presentation of our annual report to those representing the european union ’ s citizens is a key element of our accountability, which is a necessary counterpart to our independence. that is also why we have decided to publish our feedback to the input you provided in the resolution on the 2014 annual report, together with this report. this is the first time we have done so. this decision reflects the importance of having a fruitful dialogue between our institutions, for the benefit of european citizens. today, i will first discuss the monetary policy measures that the ecb has taken to fulfil its mandate and what impact these have had on the real economy. i will then explain how steps to complete banking union and a capital markets union would not only support a strengthened emu ( along with fiscal and economic union, as well as democratic accountability ) but also contribute to enhancing financial stability. as european developments need to be put into a wider perspective, i will also say a few words on ongoing discussions in international fora regarding global developments and international financial regulation. monetary policy and its impact on the real economy 2015 was characterised by a modest economic recovery. however, inflation dynamics were weak and continued to deteriorate throughout the course of the year. thus, after adopting our credit easing measures in the middle of 2014, we took further decisive action in 2015 to pursue our price stability mandate. let me remind you that, in january last year, inflation in the euro area had moved into negative territory, the outlook on inflation had worsened significantly and market - based inflation expectations stood at historic lows. in this situation, we

fahad bin abdullah al - mubarak : economic, financial and supervisory developments in saudi arabia opening speech by h e dr fahad bin abdullah al - mubarak, governor of the saudi arabian monetary agency, on the occasion of the issuance of the 49th annual report, riyadh, 17 march 2014. * * * it gives me pleasure to meet you today. i would like to welcome you at sama and thank you for attending this conference on the occasion of the issuance of sama 49th annual report. we are deeply sorry for the delay of this gathering for reasons beyond our control. ladies and gentlemen, at the beginning, i would like to review the latest economic developments in the kingdom. our economy continued its growth for the 14th consecutive year. the real gdp grew by 3. 8 percent during 2013, which was greater than the global economic growth of 2. 9 percent for the same year. the private sector grew by 5. 5 percent. the growth of the saudi economy was ascribed to the continuous government investment expenditure, especially on infrastructure projects, and continuous high - paced growth due to the achievements in the area of updating and improving regulations and enhancement of the business environment, which promoted domestic and foreign investments. the growth was also attributed to the finance provided by the domestic banks and specialized credit funds to the various economic activities in the kingdom. according to data of the ministry of finance, the kingdom registered a real surplus of sar 180. 3 billion ( 6. 5 percent of gdp ) in its budget during 2013. the public debt fell to sar 75. 1 billion ( representing 2. 7 percent of gdp ). moreover, the kingdom achieved a surplus of sar 486. 8 billion ( 17. 4 percent of gdp ) in the current account of the balance of payments ( compared to 22. 4 percent in the preceding year ). the inflation rate increased from 2. 9 percent in 2012 to 3. 5 percent in 2013. however, it is still under control. according to the latest data of the central department of statistics and information, the inflation annual rate declined to 2. 8 percent during february 2014, given that the inflation rate in emerging and developing economies was estimated at 6. 2 percent in 2013. inflationary pressures in the kingdom were due to the housing sector and food prices. at the time when a number of industrial countries are witnessing a decline in their credit rating, fitch credit rating agency promoted the kingdom ’ s sovereign credit rating from ( aa - ) to (