the legislature considered that, in a small country like ours, whose human and material resources are bound to be limited, the way to achieve significant reinforcement of the resources allocated to financial stability is to develop substantial synergy between the various institutions concerned, in order to achieve the maximum economies of scale and to take the resources thus released and reallocate them to the basic functions of each institution. the law of 2 august 2002 provides that the rules governing the arrangements for pooling resources must be set out in a protocol concluded between the institutions concerned and approved by the king. without waiting for the official inauguration of the fsc, its members have agreed on a framework for exploiting synergy and have submitted proposals to the minister for achieving greater cooperation in regard to prudential policy and various support activities. the fsc has also set up a number of priority projects for the coming months, in particular the launch of a national coordination initiative on the subject of business continuity, which will take account, in particular, of the lessons which can be drawn from the events of 11 september 2001. in conclusion, i would simply say that this new committee and the far more historic institutions from which it emanates are firmly resolved that they will actively seek the solutions best suited to the general interest in the field entrusted to them, namely the field of financial stability.

supervision, usually the supervision of credit institutions, while one or more separate agencies supervise the other financial intermediaries and the markets. i consider that what we might call the intermediate model resulting from the law of 2 august 2002 is a fairly good combination of these two main models, and it is fair to say that this belgian design could be a source of inspiration once it is considered necessary to set up prudential supervision arrangements at european level. in any case, the reform has attracted favourable comments both from the european central bank and from the international monetary fund. the new set - up is headed by the financial stability committee, which now combines the management boards of the bfc, the iso and the nbb, alongside the financial services authority supervisory board, which will combine the supervisory boards and council of regency of the various institutions. as regards the financial stability committee which is being installed today, in accordance with the intentions of the legislature i see it as : • the pilot for the collection and development of expertise relevant to the professions of both supervisor and central banker ; • a place for dialogue and consultation, certainly for providing warning of financial instability but also, if necessary, for managing such situations ; • a body in charge of organising certain synergies between the three institutions ( tomorrow it will be two : the bfic and the nbb ), in order to achieve economies of scale in their operation, all without affecting the specific responsibilities of each institution. to quote an expression used by my colleague at the european central bank, t. padoa - schioppa, macro - and micro - prudential supervision are nowadays two sides of the same coin : distinct but inseparable. the central bank, traditionally in charge of macro - financial stability, as well as being the bankers ’ bank, must not be cut off from information about the conduct of the few major players who dominate the financial scene and whose failure - should it occur - could have systemic consequences. similarly, the body or bodies in charge of micro - prudential supervision have the advantage of being able to suit their action to the relevant macro - economic context. the many shocks which the world financial markets have suffered in recent years are sufficient demonstration that financial stability cannot be regarded as an established fact. even though, very fortunately, no major problems have ensued for individual players or for the systems as a whole, these events have confirmed the need to reinforce the resources devoted to the preservation of financial stability at macro and micro level. in belgium,