increased. in 2024 banks under european banking supervision reported a return on equity of around 10 %, compared with 6 % in 2015. banks'return on assets rose from 0. 4 % to 0. 7 % over the same period. during the years of low interest rates and low inflation profitability was much lower and it only recovered when interest rates increased. the non - performing loans ratio has decreased dramatically, from 7 % in 2015 to below 2 % today. meanwhile, all banks under european banking supervision, whether significant or less significant, are now subject to the same supervisory standards – applied in the same way across all 21 countries. and harmonisation with practices in the rest of the eu has also greatly improved. 1 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches so, clearly, good regulation and good supervision have been essential to create a safe and harmonised level playing field and to allow the eu banking system to play its role in the economy without compromising banks'lending capacity. they have also helped banks withstand some unexpected turmoil in recent years : russia's war of aggression in ukraine and the energy supply shock, as well as the banking turmoil of march 2023 in some other countries. weakening banking regulation and supervision would not boost the competitiveness of the eu economy. the issue of competitiveness should be addressed in a different way and the recent report by mario draghi has delivered some key messages, notably the need to encourage innovation and productivity in the european union. we all know that there are still significant discrepancies between countries that could create market distortions, in particular discrepancies in tax and corporate insolvency laws. achieving a harmonised single market also requires structural reform in all countries. i won't repeat here the rationale behind the need to create a truly single market for capital, but i would nevertheless like to emphasise that we need to complete the banking union. this requires, first, a fully - fledged european deposit insurance scheme and, second, a stronger european framework for crisis management ( and here i am referring to the crisis management and deposit insurance, or cmdi, framework ). both will promote integration and reduce national fragmentation. a more integrated european banking sector will be more efficient and competitive. of course, the ecb remains open to discussing possible simplifications and streamlining of its approach to banking supervision. the reform of our supervisory review and evaluation process ( srep ) is one key element. changes will be implemented gradually, starting in

- alone project. there are interdependencies with standardization and regulatory issues at global level. for instance, full emv migration for cards in europe and the move to chip - only cards remain difficult as long as there are regions in the world where the magnetic stripe remains dominant. and yet, sepa and europe ’ s retail payments integration is affecting initiatives for integration at global level. international initiatives such as the international payments framework association ( ipfa ) see sepa as a blueprint for developing multi - currency schemes for nonurgent cross - border payments. these initiatives face the additional challenge of accommodating control requirements relating to anti - money laundering and countering terrorist finance. finally, retail payments integration at global level may also extend to the remittance market and make remittance payments cheaper and more efficient. these are all weighty matters and i ’ m sure you ’ ll be considering them in the sessions tomorrow. i hope you will have a stimulating, useful and successful morning. but now, i ’ d like to wish you bon appetit! table 1 : use of payment instruments : number of transaction per inhabitant ( bis red book for us figures, ecb sdw for euro area figures, 2011 figures ) euro area us credit transfer direct debit cheques cards total bis central bankers ’ speeches