##tisation markets activity was seriously impaired after the subprime crisis due to the stigma attached to any kind of asset - backed securities, and the lack of recognition by investors and regulators of the specific quality of each product. to address some of these problems, the european commission has recently published an interesting proposal for amending the european regulation on prudential requirements for credit institutions and investment firms that introduces a differentiated treatment for high quality securitisations that meet stringent standards in terms of simplicity, transparency and standardization. 5. concluding remarks let me now conclude by highlighting what i think are the main lessons drawn from the recent crisis in connection with credit developments. first, it seems clear that given the large financial imbalances that emerged during the expansionary years, a protracted contraction in credit demand seems not only unavoidable but also positive to restore the ability of the economy to grow on a sustainable basis. yet there is little doubt that frictions on the supply side amplified the contractionary effects of weak demand and that those frictions merit bold policy attention. in any case, policy interventions aimed at revitalising credit during a crisis should be carefully designed and calibrated, duly taking into account that credit flows should not be expected to fully recover until lenders ’ and borrowers ’ balance sheets are on sufficiently firm ground. in the case of spain, some of the main constraints affecting credit developments for most of the recent crisis have abated considerably as a result of the improvement in the macroeconomic outlook, the bold banking sector reform and the introduction of various measures at both the national and european level. these positive developments, however, should not be taken as conclusive evidence that the task is complete and that all relevant risks have been dispelled. rather, the consolidation of the recent positive signals in the macroeconomic and financial spheres requires resolve to complete the reforms still pending on various relevant fronts. this should, in my opinion, be bis central bankers ’ speeches the main priority in seeking to enhance economic growth prospects on a sustainable basis and to mitigate the volatility of the financial and economic cycles. thank you very much for your attention. bis central bankers ’ speeches

national and european level, does also facilitate the normalisation of the economy´s financial flows. these initiatives include the adoption by the eurosystem of a number of bold, unconventional monetary policy measures, including the introduction of new long - term operations linked to new lending ( the so called tltros ) and the purchase of public and private sector securities. the ongoing improvements to euro area governance arrangements are also operating in the right direction, helping stabilise european financial markets and reducing their fragmentation. one key development in this field is the banking union, which, though still incomplete, marks an unprecedented step towards a genuine european common mechanism of rules and procedures for supervising and resolving banks and protecting their depositors. all in all, the recent normalisation in european financial markets has contributed to a significant easing in financing conditions in those jurisdictions that were previously under higher macrofinancial pressure, including spain. as a result, the cost of lending in these countries has tended to converge gradually to the lower levels observed in the core euro area. at the same time, some measures recently introduced at the national level have also supported the availability of bank financing to smes. specifically, the regulatory definition of an sme has been significantly widened, bringing it in line with that predominating at the european level and so extending the benefits of the lower capital requirements associated with loans to such firms. as a result of the conjunction of the previous developments, most quantitative and qualitative indicators point to a higher dynamism in credit flows in spain which is linked both to supply and demand factors. for instance, data from the central credit register show an upward trend in the number of credit transactions with non - financial corporations which has been driven by an increase in both loan applications and their approval rates. this evidence is moreover consistent with the results of the survey on the access to finance of firms conducted by the ecb on the basis of a sample of european companies. in particular, since the end of 2013, spanish smes have reported an improvement in their perception of access to credit, a signal which is consistent with that from the bank lending survey. 4. policy considerations on sme ’ s financing allow me to say now a few words on policy considerations regarding the specific case of small firms ’ financing. undoubtedly, the crisis has been a painful reminder for us that the access of smes to finance may deteriorate suddenly and sharply in periods of high uncertainty. financial institutions, such as those represented here, with a mandate to