envisaged in the original design. the single resolution fund has been created but the resources contributed by the banks, initially subdivided by country, will not be pooled for some time ; and no clear determination to use it has transpired. the single deposit guarantee system has not yet been finalized ; the european commission recently presented a proposal, it too envisaging a lengthy period of transition. in both cases there is no provision for a european public financial backstop, which has been called for since the 2012 report and is necessary to guarantee that banking union has the capacity to safeguard systemic stability. in discussion and in the political debate, the theme of prudential requirements against sovereign exposures is often linked with that of the completion of banking union, on the grounds that risks have to be reduced before they can be shared. the issue needs to be addressed with no preconceived opinions, and without taking hasty decisions that could aggravate rather than mitigate risks. there is no consensus on the overall advantages of the various reform options : furthermore, experience teaches that transitions originally intended as gradual are often suddenly speeded up by the market. in any case, the issue needs to be resolved in a coordinated way at global level and in the proper institutional fora. bis central bankers ’ speeches poor compliance with fiscal rules in the period preceding the crisis justified their being strengthened, but these last few years have demonstrated how important it is to enforce them taking account, as foreseen by the rules, of exceptional circumstances and the concurrent implementation of longer - term intervention. at the beginning of last year the european commission established the conditions for applying the flexibility clauses of the stability and growth pact, which can allow national budgets to perform the function of macroeconomic stabilization, at least in part, when necessary. however, not all contingencies can be foreseen ; the commission is often compelled to interpret the margin for flexibility provided by the rules in an unavoidably discretionary manner. a common budget, which can only be achieved by further transfers of national sovereignty and an adequate strengthening of the democratic legitimacy of supranational institutions, would make it possible to implement policies consistent with the cyclical conditions in various economies and in the euro area overall, promptly and with no doubts as to their legitimacy. the single currency needs to interact with a single fiscal policy. to be effective, a fiscal union requires the introduction of common debt instruments and, at the same time, decisions on the treatment of pre

luke forau : launch of solomon island's payment system solats remarks by mr luke forau, governor of the central bank of solomon islands, at the launch of the national payments system solats, honiara, 8 april 2024. * * * representatives from ifc and wbg – ms hang, mr. smiley and ms annette dfat and mfat representatives – cbsi directors heads of financial institutions national payment system project managers and your technical teams cbsi management and staff members of the media distinguished invited guests, ladies and gentlemen. a very good morning to you all, and a warm welcome to honiara, to our visitors from abroad. i have great pleasure to welcome you to the central bank of solomon islands to witness the launch of, yet another milestone in our payment infrastructure, the solomon islands automated transfer system, called solomons ats ( solats ). this new platform revolutionizes payments in solomon islands. individuals, businesses, and the government will benefit from secure, efficient, and convenient transactions. solats lays the foundation towards the digitalisation of the solomon islands economy ; it will create the conditions for banks and other financial institutions to offer new products / services. this event is the culmination of years of hard work and collaboration between payments experts from ifc / wbg, montran ( the vendor ), datec ( the network consultant ) and the project teams across the papri countries in the region. you will agree with me that this event also marks the success of the ongoing pacific partnership program between the solomon islands government, multilateral organisations and donor partners. this national payment system project is unique as it introduced us to unfamiliar frontiers given the gaps that existed in the technical and legal infrastructure, and even at the operational level in terms of adequate resourcing, let alone skilled resources to take on the challenges that come with the project requirements. for solomon islands, the project inception began in july 2019 – a year before the covid - 19 disruptions – you can imagine the challenges we all faced during covid - 19. now, that is all history! 1 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches having reached this stage of implementation, therefore, means that we have successfully bridged the gaps, perhaps, connected the dots and map out the unchartered waters in the local payment ecosystem. on that note, i would like to register our sincere thanks to the banking industry for the invaluable contributions and support that you've rendered