the smooth transposition of basel 3 is part of this clarification, including the implementation of the output floor only at consolidated level within the european union : if not, we will have introduced a new obstacle to cross - border activities within europe. together with the banking union, a genuine capital markets union ( cmu ) is essential to strengthening financial integration in europe : we advocated it strongly with jens weidmann, president of the bundesbank, in a joint paper published yesterday, and it will be a key topic of today ’ s informal ecofin, thanks to the romanian presidency. despite some recent achievements, progress on this topic is proving difficult and slow. let us finally move on from a rhetorical consensus in principle to concrete headways, notably on instruments, access to finance for smes, and supervision. in this respect, i welcome the progress achieved on a pan - european personal pension product ( pepp ) : this product is portable across member states and offers consumers a wider range of investment opportunities. we should also make progress towards the harmonisation of insolvency regimes. it should facilitate cross - border investment. one of the most challenging issues of the cmu is to provide cheaper and easier access to equity for smes in order to support their growth. equity financing is a key driver of innovation : it is better suited to the uncertainty and offers long - term returns associated with innovative projects. the euro area is seriously lagging behind in this respect : equity only accounts for 80 % of gdp, compared with 122 % in the united states. integrated capital markets also require effective supervision. here again, milestones have been reached thanks to the outcome of the recent review of esas towards enhancing their role. concerning the supervision of financial markets, esma will as a first step contribute to furthering convergence of supervisory practices. yet in the longer run, the scope of its direct supervisory powers should be expanded starting with the supervision of wholesale markets. regarding the insurance sector, a particular attention was paid to strengthening the supervision of cross - border activities through eiopa. i welcome also the enhanced eba role on aml - cft issues, an area where progress in the european framework is absolutely needed. finally, the capital markets union needs robust market infrastructure. thanks to emir ii, europe has given itself powers – via esma – to directly supervise third country ccps which have a systemic footprint vis - a - vis the eu. this being said, emir ii is not the end

denis beau : financial inclusion in the digital age - how to make a difference? panel opening talk by mr denis beau, first deputy governor of the bank of france, at the singapore fintech festival 2019, singapore, 13 november 2019. * * * good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, i am very happy to be here with you today to introduce this session on financial inclusion and i would like to thank the mas for offering me the opportunity to contribute to this conference. inclusion is an essential topic for the financial sector, and more broadly for society as a whole. it ’ s essential because it ’ s about making sure everyone can have access to financial services. because without this access, there is no or only limited ways for people to take part in the formal economy, to build up capital, to buy goods and services, to develop an entrepreneurial project. it is essential because it ’ s not just about more growth for the financial sector or even for the economy as a whole, it ’ s also about reducing inequalities and making sure that more fragile populations, households and businesses, are not left out of economic development. of course, fintechs have a huge role to play in financial inclusion. they can provide new solutions, but they also raise new challenges, with new players entering the financial world and new ways of looking at customer relationships. and they can also bring new risks : for instance, of leaving out those who are not at ease with digitalization, of creating unforeseen bias via automation of processes, or of leading to security issues for personal data that is not handled properly. so is the digital age a blessing or a curse for financial inclusion? to help us answer that question, there was a very interesting session this morning in the plenary on “ a macro view on financial inclusion ”. and this afternoon, you will have the opportunity to listen to a wide range of speakers, who will share their experience around many more topics : what is financial inclusion 2. 0? can blockchain play a role? what can regulators do? and where are we standing in developing economies where inclusion is the most needed, in particular in africa? to contribute to these forthcoming discussions, let me share with you the perspective of a central banker and a supervisor, whose institution has been entrusted by law to support financial inclusion. i would like to highlight the different ways we currently support financial inclusion and how we intend to adapt them to the digital age and to improve them building on digital tools.