lower income households bore the brunt of job losses and wage cuts in the last recession. 6 while the concentration of over indebtedness was in households where the head was born in the 1970s and 1980s. 7 this group cut their spending to prioritise debt repayments and in some cases sought debt resolution through insolvency arrangements. 8 there was a sharp rise in market income inequality. 9 however, by one measure, disposable income inequality was more stable over the period, illustrating the heavy lifting by taxes and transfers in ireland. compared with other oecd members, the taxes and transfers system here results in the greatest difference between market and disposable income inequality as measured by the gini coef cient. 10 however, i recognise that measuring inequality is a challenge, and one that tasc and others here this evening spend considerable time on. and while using one number is a blunt measurement, it does enable a comparison across countries. furthermore, income is but one type of inequality, wealth inequality is another. when last measured in 2013, ireland was placed in the middle of our european peers. however, since the 1980s the level of wealth inequality had substantially increased. we know from surveys we conduct with the central statistics of ce ( cso ) that indebtedness plays a key role in the net wealth distribution, or inequality. 11 at the central bank we are used to looking at areas of macroeconomic vulnerability, while tasc and other groups are i understand, in the main, focused on inequality, social vulnerabilities and change. it is important to remember that these vulnerabilities intersect. a core part of what we do aims to build resilience of households and businesses and ensure the stable provision of credit. against this backdrop, let me now turn to borrowing and indebtedness in the context of the mortgage rules we have in place. research shows that when crises follow periods of high leverage or excessive lending and borrowing the recoveries are slower and the recessions are deeper. 12 excessive credit growth independent of incomes can have a severely negative effect on household welfare. the recent crisis in ireland was testament to that, and as i just noted, it affected different groups in different ways. a decade on, households are recovering from the crisis. the number of households in arrears continues to decline and the economy is nearing full employment. yet, the legacy remains. in comparison to our european peers, ireland ranks fth comparing ratios

particular importance are the export of chemicals and related products ( accounting for 78 % of irish exports to germany ). machinery and transport equipment was another double - digit ( 11 % ) export share. germany was the 4th largest provider of foreign direct investment ( fdi ) inflows into ireland in 2020, accounting for 3 % of all fdi flows into ireland. and 160 german foreign affiliate firms accounted for over 34, 000 jobs in ireland, and over €10bn of turnover, with substantially greater involvement in trade activities ( both imports and exports ) than domestic firms. 5 since 2010, irish goods and services exports to germany have grown by an annual average of 10. 3 %. over the same period, german exports to ireland grew by 5. 2 %. events like today are important to reinforce that relationship. in my first speech as governor of the central bank of ireland, back in 2019, i spoke about resilience through some of the big changes we as a society are facing, in particular the changing financial system, technological change, and climate change. what i really want to talk to you about today, is not beheadings and patronage ( as interesting as this history may be! ) but to pick - up on some of these transitions. the transition of the financial services ecosystem the financial services ecosystem is under fundamental transition. the digitalisation of banking and payment services through technology - led change is transforming both the sector and the consumer experience. a range of new entrants are entering the market and new and incumbent business model are shifting to mobile and online delivery. getting this transition right will be key to ensuring the sector serves the needs of consumers and the economy into the future. across europe we are seeing, for example, the rapid evolution of traditional banking services being provided to consumers, the transformation in the electronic payments area, including the emergence of, and consumer demand for, instant payments. we are seeing new challenger banks targeting the more attractive aspects of traditional financial service provision. the development of new business models and product categories are being driven by the advent of open banking or new cloud - based and blockchain - based technologies. we are seeing a range of structural changes taking place from sector consolidation through m & a and the outsourcing of other cash - related activities to third parties. we are seeing the ever - increasing role of data and data - analytics in financial services provision. and we ’ re seeing the pivot to a net zero carbon economy where banking has an important role to