- prudential stance and supervisory priorities as the national macroprudential authority, the central bank is mandated to implement measures to prevent excessive credit growth and leverage at a system - wide level. in line with this mandate, the central bank recently activated the counter - cyclical capital buffer, which is expressly designed to manage cyclical risks. by requiring additional capital buffers during cyclical upswings, the banking system will be better prepared for future downturns. in particular, in the event of an adverse shock, this capital buffer can be released, thereby mitigating the damaging pro - cyclical withdrawal of credit supply under adverse conditions. in relation to new mortgage lending, our borrower - based measures that impose ( flexible ) ceilings on loan - to - income ( lti ) and loan - to - value ( ltv ) ratios have built - in features that limit pro - cyclical dynamics. in the absence of such ceilings, cyclically - strong economic conditions might otherwise drive mortgage market dynamics towards more aggressive lti and ltv ratios due to 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches upward revisions ( by lenders and borrowers ) in projections of future levels of house prices and incomes. in addition, by limiting the risks of over - borrowing by households and over - lending by banks, household and bank balance sheets should be more resilient in the event of a future downturn. in relation to supervisory priorities, the current upturn in the european economy also provides an opportunity to address legacy issues such as the excessive stock of non - performing loans ( npls ) that accumulated in the wake of the crisis. in terms of timing, benign economic and financial conditions make it easier to identify feasible solutions for troubled loans in terms of the repayment capacity of debtors, the value of collateral and the market appetite for loan portfolio transactions. while the tackling of npls is a pan - european supervisory priority, it has particular importance in countries such as ireland that experienced the most severe increases in troubled loans in the wake of the crisis. while the direct restructuring of troubled loans by banks plays a vital role ( and, indeed, has been extensively deployed in the irish banking system in recent years ), the sale of loan portfolios is also an important element in macro - financial risk management. in particular, the reduction in the size of bank balance sheets ( especially through holding a lower stock of npls ) limits financial stability risk in the event of a future downturn, in terms

the future of financial market infrastructures : spearheading progress without renouncing safety. remarks at the central bank payments conference, singapore, 26 june 2018. xiv cambridge centre for risk studies and risk management solutions, inc. cyber risk outlook 2018, xv see ecb ( 2018 ), tiber - eu framework – how to implement the european framework for threat intelligence - based ethical red teaming, may 2018. page | 12 the need for resilience in the face of disruption : regulatory expectations in the digital world xvi see central bank of ireland, cross industry guidance in respect of information technology and cybersecurity risks, september 2016. page | 13