s unconditional willingness to support the exchange rate are firmly embedded among participants in the foreign - exchange market as well as among danish exporters and importers. the large commercial banks ’ speculative behaviour in the foreign - exchange market acts as a stabiliser. if the krone lies on the weak side of the parity, the commercial banks will position themselves in support of the krone, and they will furthermore advise their customers to purchase krone e. g. sell export proceeds in foreign currency. the reverse is the case if the krone is on the strong side of the central parity. all this takes place within a narrow range around the central parity. 4. conclusion it is clear from the preceding sections that erm ii is not very visible in the day - to - day management of the danish fixed - exchange - rate policy. danmarks nationalbank seeks to stabilise the krone within a much narrower range than the + / - 2. 25 per cent fluctuation band. the erm ii band serves as a safety net. it provides international support in a worst - case scenario. it is probably more important that by entering the erm ii agreement in 1998 the danish government strengthened its commitment to pursue an economic policy in accordance with the requirements set by the fixed - exchange - rate policy. a stability oriented macroeconomic framework conducive to growth and employment can undoubtedly be achieved in many different ways. in the case of denmark the fixed - exchange - rate policy and erm ( i and ii ) membership have been instrumental to the establishment of such a framework. there are many country - specific circumstances that make life either easy or difficult under a fixed - exchange - rate regime. however, there are two fairly general lessons to be learnt. firstly, monetary policy must be unconditionally subordinated to the exchange rate. secondly, a fixed - exchange - rate policy is neither an approach by which lower interest rates can be achieved the easy way, nor a way to postpone structural domestic adjustments with the support of the anchor country. the primary responsibility for the establishment of a stability oriented macroeconomic framework remains with the individual country itself. appendix chart 1a : differential between main refinancing interest rates in denmark and the euro area percent apr - 92 apr - 93 apr - 94 apr - 95 apr - 96 apr - 97 apr - 98 apr - 99 apr - 00 apr - 01 apr - 02 int erest rat e dif f erent ial

anselmo teng : brief overview of macao ’ s economy in 2012 speech by mr anselmo teng, chairman of the monetary authority of macao, at the macau association of banks ( abm ) spring festival luncheon gathering, macao, 26 february 2013. * * * the honourable mr. tam pak yuen, secretary for economy and finance, msar, the honourable ms. gao yan, deputy director, liaison office of the central people ’ s government, the honourable mr. ye yixin, chairman of the macao association of banks, honourable friends of the banking sector, honourable guests, in the chinese tradition, the new year carries a special connotation ; fire crackers bid farewell to the past year while the old couplets are replaced to greet new things. we see the year of the dragon off and greet the new year of the snake. on behalf of amcm, i would like to take this opportunity of greeting the new year of the snake, to wish the msar a harmonious community, prosperous business. moreover, thriving business opportunities will fall on the banking sector and our practitioners will elevate to a higher level in their ladder of career advancement. in the past year, although adversely affected by outside environmental factors, the overall economy of macao has scored flying colours again under the cooperation of all sectors of the community. the banking sector has exhibited stable development, another record has been created. it has never been better. according to initial statistics available : as at the end of december 2012, total assets of the banking system stood at mop796. 2 billion, a year - onyear increase of 21 % ; total deposits amounted to mop554. 2 billion, a year - on - year increase of 32. 7 % ; total loans outstanding were valued at mop407 billion, a year - on - year increase of 26. 2 %. although bank assets never cease to grow, the quality of assets has remained fine, non - performing loan ratio was only 0. 19 % while capital adequacy ratio ( car ) stood at 14. 6 %, basically tier one core capital. liquidity ratio was maintained at a rather high level. for 2012 as a whole, total profits of the banking system amounted to mop5. 7 billion, a yearon - year increase of 25 %. the recent trend shows that the international financial situation is displaying clearer signs of recovery. it is however noted