, by making payments more convenient, faster, and more innovative. however, in europe, it also creates challenges, particularly if we become increasingly reliant on a few dominant non - eu players, such as international card schemes and global tech giants. these companies leverage network effects and control proprietary standards in retail payments, hampering competition and innovation in payments. ultimately, this increased reliance on non - eu providers raises concerns about the operational resilience and strategic autonomy of the european payment ecosystem. to help address those challenges, the eurosystem is preparing an important evolution in the central bank money services it provides to the general public, in the form of what 2 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches is called the " digital euro " – a retail cbdc. and the banque de france is actively contributing to the preparatory work for what is intended to be akin to a " digital banknote " that will be available across the euro area, have legal tender status, be governed by european standards, and be distributed by banks and other financial institutions, to highlight just a few of its key foreseen characteristics, in addition to privacy. let me just stress here that in this retail space our action goes well beyond adapting our central bank money services. it also includes supporting the development of paneuropean payment solutions, such as epi's digital wallet, the wero, and pushing for an ongoing adaptation of regulatory and supervisory frameworks to support innovation. to conclude, let me share two convictions regarding the conditions under which the path towards the digitalisation of payments, including settlement assets, may lead to sustainable benefits. first we need a regulatory framework that does not stifle innovation but that is sufficiently demanding to ensure that stakeholders are protected and that the stability of the payment system, and the financial system more broadly, is guaranteed. second, we must complement this " confidence - prone " framework with central bank money services adapted to the coming digital age of payments, built on strong dialogue and comprehensive experimentation with other central banks – as we are doing with the mas – and with market participants. in the wholesale space, our objective at the banque de france is to adapt those services to ensure that central bank money remains at the heart of settlement processes. in the retail space, our objective is to widen the payment solutions and choices available to include a " digital banknote ". 3 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches

christian noyer : globalisation of capital markets speech by mr christian noyer, governor of the bank of france, at paris europlace, international financial forum, tokyo, 27 november 2007. * * * ladies and gentlemen, it is a great honour and a pleasure for me to speak before such a distinguished audience and i am delighted to be in tokyo today. in the last decades, global economic growth, financial innovation and financial globalisation have progressed hand in hand. this does not exclude, of course, challenging episodes of stress, such as the current one. financial globalisation is not a new phenomenon, but the scale and speed of the current phase of globalisation is unprecedented ; cross - border and cross - market links are deeper than ever before. events are still unfolding, but the dynamics of the current crisis has been a live experiment of how globalisation has modified the reaction of the financial system to shocks. the magnitude of possible losses is, in many respects, contained. current estimates put the direct cost of subprime defaults at around 250 billions usd. it is significant but bearable, especially starting from a point of very favourable economic conditions and high profitability. still, what began as a sound correction of the undervaluation of risks in the subprime market unravels as one of the major financial crisis of the past 10 years. some scenarios considered as very remote crystallised on a large scale, while widely expected break - up points held up well. hedge funds, once considered as a source of systemic risk, fared better than regulated institutions. the inter - bank market, traditionally the most liquid and efficient of all markets, has experienced serious dislocation, while equity markets were relatively unscathed. the spreading of defiant expectations from the subprime us market to other segments, other institutions and other regions has been unexpected, asymmetric and disconnected from the magnitude of the initial shock. it invites us to revisit our reading of globalisation and contagion in the light of current events. the ongoing financial globalisation is underpinned by three main drivers, each of them strengthening the two others. the first driver, and probably the strongest, is financial innovation. supported by technological progress, financial innovation has fostered the emergence of new financial products and services, resulting in more complete financial markets. thanks to advances in financial technology, it is now possible to break up the risk of an asset into its constituent parts and to recombine