zoja razmusa : payments in the 22nd century - future starts today? introductory statement by ms zoja razmusa, deputy governor of the bank of lativa, at the annual conference of the bank of latvia " payments in the 22nd century : future starts today? ", riga, 3 october 2018. * * * ladies and gentlemen, i am pleased to welcome you to the annual conference of latvijas banka. i would like to note that mentioning the 22nd century in the title of the conference is not a typing error. our conference this year is special because we are celebrating the 100th anniversary of latvia. we are proud of our country and would like to take a longer - term perspective and try to think about payments over the next 100 years. as economists we, of course, understand that the longer the forecast term, the less accurate they are likely to be. central banks are first and foremost about money and that is also reflected in the title of our today ’ s conference. since 2014 the euro has been our money. one of the key functions of money is to be a store of value. euro area monetary policy is aimed at ensuring that the euro remains a reliable store of value as reflected in the aim to keep annual inflation close to but below 2 % over the medium term. however, another equally important function of money is to be a medium of exchange. payments play a key role in the smooth functioning of the economy and this area has greatly evolved in the recent decades and, in particular, the last several years. central banks are playing a fundamental role in facilitating a secure, efficient and innovative payment system. this is the focus of our today ’ s conference. instant payments provide a good notion of what modern financial services should be like. the 21st century consumer expects any service to be available online, here and now. paying invoices, making purchases or transferring funds to an individual or company can take place at any hour of the day or night and from any location with internet access. it only requires a couple of clicks and seconds for the money to reach the recipient. instant payments are quick, convenient, secure and user - friendly. the progress that has been reached in the domain of interbank transfers during the last generation is impressive. just a bit more than 20 years ago in latvia there was one interbank clearing cycle a day, it was paper - based and the transactions between clients of different commercial banks at that time took a few days to be

, the european banking authority ( eba ( european banking authority ) ) and the single resolution board ( srb ( single resolution board ) ) confirmed that common equity instruments would be the first in line to absorb losses. on 18 april, the european commission published a proposal to adjust the eu ( european union ) crisis management and deposit insurance ( cmdi ( crisis management and deposit insurance ) ) framework, including broadening the scope of the resolution framework to smaller and medium - sized banks. the proposal aims to address the shortcomings of the framework that were identified in past crisis situations. this has the potential to enhance the credibility of the framework and strengthen market discipline. at the same time, as the reforms consider changes to well - established deposit insurance schemes, it is important to avoid unwanted side effects. let me recap : recent events have highlighted weaknesses in the banking sector during periods of monetary policy tightening. they have underscored the importance of adequate asset and liability management. banking supervision needs to remain vigilant in a very dynamic environment. consistent implementation of the new basel iii framework at the global level is equally important in this regard. 3 towards a single european capital market ladies and gentlemen, let me now turn from the banking sector to capital markets. the free flow of capital is essential for the functioning of a monetary union. moreover, integrated capital markets can contribute to safeguarding financial stability. this is because improved cross - border financing, especially through equity, can help to share risks and cushion economic shocks. and capital markets can help us deal with the challenges that lie ahead. think about digitalisation or the need to green our economies. these far - reaching transformations will require massive investment that will primarily have to come from the private sector. for example, delivering on the european green deal alone will require additional annual investment of €520 billion across the eu ( european union ) until 2030. to mobilise these sums, europe needs a stable and resilient banking system and deeper and more liquid capital markets. the eu ( european union ) capital markets union would promote capital market financing to complement bank lending. unlike in the united states, bank - based financing still makes up the lion ’ s share of funding in europe. there is a lot of untapped potential in european capital markets. consider insolvency regimes, for instance : the significant differences in national insolvency frameworks across the eu ( european union ) pose a major obstacle to capital market integration in europe. yet there