example for the use of micro data one example of the many sets of micro data available in the research data and service center is our panel on household finances. it provides survey data on households ’ balance sheets, pension incomes, employment and demographic characteristics of german households. the second wave of the survey was conducted in 2014 and the first results of this second wave will be published at the beginning of next year. similar panels are now surveyed in all member states of the euro area under the guidance of the ecb, allowing empirical analyses to exploit variations not only over time but also across countries. monetary policy makers can gain important insights from these data. they allow us, for instance, to draw conclusions about the number of liquidity constrained households. such information cannot be obtained from aggregate data on household debt alone, because highly indebted households may still have access to bank credit if they possess sufficiently valuable assets. in the end, central banks can therefore better analyse the effectiveness of the lending channel. by being able to obtain information on the asset and liability side of households ’ balance sheets, we are also better able to identify financial stability risks. but the panel on household finances does not only yield important insights for central bankers. it is also a great treasure trove for academic researchers. to date, 60 researchers in germany and more than 150 users abroad are using the anonymised data from the panel on household finances. their projects cover a broad range of topics. there are, for instance, projects on the impact of monetary policy on income distribution, on the importance of residential property for retirement saving or on measuring poverty and consumption. so it is probably fair to say that the panel on household finance is one example where the demand for deeper analysis is already producing new statistics and important insights. the advance of modern information technology in all areas of society means that we are able to analyse ever larger data sets. but does this justify collecting every possible statistic? there is no doubt that more data and new data processing technologies can facilitate the work of researchers, supervisors and statisticians. but it increasingly also raises serious questions of data protection. and it also requires taking into account that the burden of collecting data bis central bankers ’ speeches and preparing it for processing has ultimately to be borne by businesses, banks and households. the famous saying, “ there is no free lunch ”, holds for data collection too. but maybe, this aspect will already be addressed during this conference. 5. conclusion ladies and gentlemen, you have

advantage of those offers, if they are willing to shop around. that of course raises questions about why more cardholders don ’ t take advantage of the lower rates that are on offer, whether there are obstacles to competition and whether there might be some role for regulatory action. some cardholders might be unable to switch, for example if they have poor credit histories. that is something that can be looked into, along with the related question of whether there are unreasonable obstacles to switching. other cardholders might not be aware of the options available, or might have other reasons for not pursuing them. we discuss some of those issues in our submission. the answers to these questions are not necessarily straightforward, and i think these are areas where the financial regulators can usefully do further work. when i appeared at this committee in june i indicated that the bank would consult with other regulators in this area, bis central bankers ’ speeches and we have begun doing that. we will be continuing those discussions at a more senior level at the next meeting of the council of financial regulators in september. i don ’ t want to pre - empt what might come out of those discussions, but some of the questions that might be considered are : whether there is a case for improved disclosure in this area ; whether there is a need for stronger risk assessment requirements for credit card lending ; and to what extent any actions in these areas would fall within the regulators ’ existing powers and mandates. with that, my colleagues and i are happy to take your questions. bis central bankers ’ speeches