european central bank : press conference – introductory statement introductory statement by mr jean - claude trichet, president of the european central bank, frankfurt am main, 12 april 2007. * * * ladies and gentlemen, the vice - president and i are very pleased to welcome you to today ’ s press conference. let me report on the outcome of our meeting, which was also attended by the president of the eurogroup, prime minister juncker, and commissioner almunia. on the basis of our regular economic and monetary analyses, we decided at today ’ s meeting to leave the key ecb interest rates unchanged. the information that has become available since our last meeting has further underpinned the reasoning behind our decision to increase interest rates in march. it has also confirmed that the medium - term outlook for price stability remains subject to upside risks, so that very close monitoring of all developments is warranted. indeed, it is essential to ensure that risks to price stability over the medium term do not materialise. this will contribute to ensuring that medium to longer - term inflation expectations in the euro area remain solidly anchored at levels consistent with price stability. such anchoring is a prerequisite for monetary policy to make an ongoing contribution towards supporting sustainable economic growth and job creation in the euro area. given the favourable economic environment, our monetary policy continues to be on the accommodative side, with the key ecb interest rates moderate, money and credit growth vigorous, and liquidity in the euro area ample by all plausible measures. therefore, looking ahead, acting in a firm and timely manner to ensure price stability in the medium term is warranted. turning first to the economic analysis, recent information has underpinned our assessment of ongoing robust economic growth dynamics in the euro area. eurostat ’ s second estimate has confirmed quarter - on - quarter real gdp growth in the fourth quarter of 2006 at 0. 9 %. over the whole year 2006, real gdp grew by 2. 7 % in the euro area, unadjusted for the number of working days. on the basis of the latest data, survey releases and various indicator - based estimates, it appears that robust growth is continuing in the first half of 2007. looking further ahead, the conditions are in place for the euro area economy to grow solidly. as regards the external environment, global economic growth has become more balanced across regions and, while moderating somewhat, remains strong. external conditions thus continue to provide support for euro area exports

companies, unlike the past firms that specialized in manufacturing mobile phones. 12 the incumbent mobile phone companies of the 90s failed to recognize the evolving needs of their customers. ultimately, their complacency saw them being pushed to the fringes of a market they once dominated. something similar could happen to the banking industry. unless it pays attention to and serves the changing needs of its customers, it might be sidelined by telecom companies or technology firms as primary providers of financial services. take the example of ant financial, wechat pay and m - pesa, which are firms that were launched by technology and telecom companies. all three have enjoyed tremendous growth to become the largest providers of financial services in their respective markets. by leveraging technology and adopting a customer - centric approach, they have surpassed the largest banks in their markets. central bank of kuwait - public عام - بنك الكويت المركزي in the process, they have not only attracted existing customers but also promoted financial inclusion by serving millions of otherwise unbanked customers. in the last seven years, financial inclusion in china has increased from 64 % to 80 %, and from 42 % to 82 % in kenya, in large part due to the emergence of these now fintech providers. 13 any of the three major challenges described – the difficult economic environment, growing role of technology or the changing customer expectations – would by itself have been a lot for the industry to address. but taken together they are leading to a perfect storm that the industry can no longer afford to ignore. 2 - shaping the future for the banking industry to continue growing and serving its core utility, it must transform itself. but for a well - established industry that has served us for centuries, where should this journey of transformation begin? to me, it seems that banks must conquer a number of battles if they are to survive. the most crucial of these battles are : i. ii. iii. iv. v. the battle for customer loyalty, the battle for value, the battle for efficiency, the battle for resilience, and the battle for talent. let me discuss each of these in turn. central bank of kuwait - public عام - بنك الكويت المركزي i. battle for customer loyalty the first of these battles is for customer loyalty. banks must decide whether they aim to be central to their customers ’ needs or they are content to be