dodge their own responsibilities, but the scope of these is different. interestingly though, pointing fingers and shifting responsibility are daily fare in a similar fashion. this is particularly true with respect to the relationship between europe and its national constituents. the british referendum may be regarded as a current example. but there are other instances. in banking supervision, a common regulatory framework in the euro area that has been operational for almost two years now, is directed at dampening national interests. keeping institutions credible and effective is an ongoing task. and finding and deploying governance mechanisms that are congruent with our view of european cooperation will continue to be at the forefront of our public duties in the future. 4. role of bundesbank representatives ladies and gentlemen, in a world of broadband internet and market movements synchronising within seconds across the globe, one might question why there is a need to work together like we do here in sao paulo. but, as i have outlined for europe and the european sector, filtering and interpreting our complicated world, remains a challenge. this remains especially true with respect to the globalised financial sector. high - quality information and close cooperation have not lost their value – in fact, i deem them more important than ever. the bundesbank ’ s network of international representatives is in place to comprehensively observe economic developments and the expected evolution of financial markets from within key countries and regions. our representation here in sao paolo is no exception. economic ties are on the rise – just take the increase in direct investment from the euro area to brazil from 1. 6 % in 2008 to almost 4 % in the first quarter of this year. exchanging expertise and nurturing fruitful personal networks with central banks, financial authorities, supervisory authorities, banks and others is more important than ever. dr marc rennert has represented the bundesbank in south america since december 2012. during this time, he has played a vital role in substantially stepping up the exchange of information between the bundesbank and the region ’ s central banks foremost in brazil, colombia, peru, chile, argentina, uruguay and paraguay. during his time here in sao paulo, dr rennert has been committed in particular to deepening ties with the banco central do brasil. one of his milestone achievements was undoubtedly the preparation of a memorandum of understanding formalising close cooperation between the banco central do brasil and the bundesbank with respect to knowledge transfer and education and training opportunities for staff members. more than 12 projects have already been

deutsche bundesbank, are critical of many of the demands currently being voiced. in this context, it is a great honour for us to be able to present to you mr peter sands and professor friedrich schneider as the keynote speakers at this year ’ s conference. whereas mr sands ’ main areas of research are banks and financial markets, professor schneider has made a name for himself as an expert on the shadow economy. mr sands will kick off the conference by discussing “ the dark side of cash ". professor schneider will follow by taking a critical look at the question of whether abolishing cash is an efficient instrument in the war against the shadow economy, crime and terrorism. following these two speeches, our two keynote speakers will take part in a panel debate on the future of cash. i am already eagerly looking forward to the clash of views and opinions we will be likely to hear. even after this morning ’ s proceedings, which will already be very exciting and informative, the rest of our programme for this year ’ s conference will once again rest on a broad basis. this year, we received so many high - quality papers that we have decided to conduct the conference in two parallel sessions. this enables us to look not only at the components and motives of cash demand but also payment behaviour. in addition, cash experts will speak on restrictions on cash 1 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches payments and on the theme of our conference, the “ war on cash ". i would additionally like to welcome the delegates from austria, our guest of honour at this year ’ s conference. at this juncture, i would like to thank you for your willingness to contribute talks on trends in cash usage and on technical innovations in cash processing to our third cash conference. it is precisely in questions concerning cash usage patterns or also the motives behind the demand for cash where, in my opinion, cultural differences are especially important. this is why i am pleased once again to be able to present you with a large number of speakers from a wide array of countries. these talks on cash - related themes will be delivered by leading experts from japan, india and europe, but also the united states and canada. this international variety is a hallmark of our research conference. i don ’ t want to keep you on tenterhooks so i will now hand over to the head of the bundesbank ’ s directorate general cash management and the chair of the first session, stefan hardt. i hope we all have a fruitful conference