with privacy and data management rules and best practices. yet it is not merely a question of having this information, but also of having the capacity to take full advantage of it. in other words, being able to process it so as to measure risks properly, analyse profitability and costs on a case - by - case basis, offer quality services and compete on equal terms with the new players. banks ’ position has so far gone unscathed by the entry of competitors. however, this may change with psd2. specifically, authorised third parties have access to customers ’ bank data, yet banks are not afforded similar treatment. indeed, rather than banking business opportunities per se, these new operators are more interested in the data. the report rightly states that in order to compete with bigtech on equal terms, a broad exchange of data – and not just financial data – is required. in this connection, the european commission has already started on various lines of work that seek to improve the re - utilisation of information in the market. also, proposals such as the digital market act may somewhat mitigate some of the undesired consequences of bigtech ’ s advantages stemming from anti - competitive conduct. for example, i refer to matters related to data portability and the removal of potential impediments to banks and their customers accessing the information provided to or generated on digital platforms. the report describes how fintech ’ s relationship with banks has evolved over time. thus, they appear to have shifted from outright competing and defensive positions to others 3 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches more conducive to collaboration through various channels, albeit without putting competition entirely to one side. therefore, according to the report a “ competitive collaboration ” framework, from which both sides gain, seems to have emerged. fintech firms tend to be characterised, in both the report and public opinion, as small, agile and adaptable firms. therefore, the idea of allegiances with banks is presented as “ synergistic ”. thus, fintech firms would gain access to a much broader customer base and provide in exchange innovative technology solutions. this image of fintech is mostly correct, in particular if we look at the situation in spain and the collaboration frameworks observed to date. however, recent crises involving specialist digital payment and factoring companies serve as a counterpoint to this image. indeed, their corporate structures featured tail credit institutions. naturally, banks have been impacted by the crisis. this shows

miguel fernandez ordonez : immigration and the inflation moderation debate speech by mr miguel fernandez ordonez, governor of the bank of spain, at the symposium “ the phillips curve and the natural rate hypothesis ”, kiel institute for the world economy, kiel, 3 june 2007. * * * introduction it is a pleasure to be here today at this symposium in such distinguished company. the organisers have put together an impressive programme on a key topic for policymakers and central bankers in particular. as you know, the relationship between inflation and economic activity has always been at the heart of the macroeconomics discipline. and theoretical developments in this field have had a significant and direct influence on actual monetary policymaking. we are currently in a unique situation. for an unusually long period, in the context of high global growth, inflation has remained low and stable. many commentators – and not only central bankers – would agree that better - managed monetary policy has had a lot to do with this favourable inflation performance. and there is a lively debate about which specific aspects of monetary policymaking have been responsible for it. let ’ s look at three questions this debate has raised. first, do central bankers now have better knowledge of the economy and of monetary policy transmission and, consequently, are adopting more effective decisions? second, have monetary policy regimes shifted towards making price stability a more prominent target? and third, have structural changes in the world economy, such as the globalisation of capital, production and labour, made the job of central banks easier? i will deal with all three questions today, but particularly with the effects of globalisation. i will focus mainly on labour market aspects, taking the immigration we have seen in spain in recent years as an example of the positive effects that globalisation can have on inflation. what is behind the recent success of central banks ’ in combating inflation? recent studies have given the credit for reducing the high inflation of the'70s and early'80s to the central banks ’ better knowledge of the economy. in my view, these studies have got it right. we have to admit that, at least in some countries, monetary policy didn ’ t do all it could in the'70s to contain the oil shock - induced inflation of that time. perhaps at that time, central banks lacked understanding of how supply shocks affect the output gap, as well as of the role of inflation expectations, and how these relate to monetary policy actions. but i don ’ t think that insufficient knowledge of the economy