mario draghi : opening remarks at the t2s launch celebration opening remarks by mr mario draghi, president of the european central bank, at the t2s launch celebration, milan, 2 july 2015. * * * ladies and gentlemen, i am very happy to be here today to celebrate the official launch of the target2 - securities platform with you. the occasion is made all the more special by this beautiful venue. since settling here in 2013, muba – the milan children ’ s museum – has turned this location into a place where children can unleash their inspiration, their artistic talents. drawing on the creativity around me and given this evening ’ s theme of winning stories, i hope you will indulge me as i tell one of our own winning stories – the tale of how the shared vision of target2 - securities became a successful european reality. let me start by setting the scene. t2s is a central part of the broader story of european integration. in describing this process, robert schuman said in 1950 that “ europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. it will be built through concrete achievements. ” the path has indeed been dotted with many of these achievements. for instance, when the euro was introduced in 1999, there was an urgent need for a payment system that would be able to process large - value euro payments related to monetary policy operations as well as interbank payments in the new currency. target was created as a way of linking the existing systems in europe – the first of our achievements in this realm. yet it quickly became clear that a more connected system would be needed, and in may 2008, target was completely replaced by target2, a fully integrated settlement platform. target2 has since become one of the largest payment systems in the world, and the market ’ s first choice for large - value payments in euro, with a turnover of €492 trillion last year. while these were important accomplishments which resulted in a high level of integration on the cash side, the infrastructure supporting capital markets continued to be highly fragmented. europe had over 30 different systems for settling securities. the overwhelming number of rules and approaches meant that the whole payments and settlements process remained convoluted and costly. as a result, t2s was developed. fragmentation was replaced with a simplified, universal platform which could be used to settle securities transactions in central bank money. the eurosystem, the market, and the more than 100 institutions

, and our plans are being implemented on track. these are financial sector master plan phase ii for banking sector, the capital market development plan, the payment road map. our capital account liberalization plan is undergoing industrial hearing. these forces will shape the demand for financial services and supporting infrastructure going forward. the key outcome would be demand for broader set of financial products and services to serve regional cross - border trade and investment. the economic growth and growth of wealth in asia will require better wealth management services. so, we have come full circle. the simple banking model that has served asia well so far will not be adequate to serve our growing future needs. so our banks will have more products, more complex risk profile, more interconnected with global capital market, more reliance on it infrastructure. the regulations being discussed at basel and fsb will become increasingly relevant to us. bis central bankers ’ speeches to go forward, we need to create a trust in risk management system and supervision, not just in our country but also our neighbors in asia. having a global standard is a help in fostering this trust, if we and our neighbors adopt the same standard. the challenge also is that we also need to make the standard appropriate for us. to do this, both banks and regulators across the region need to work together. this symbiotic relationship is how we get the trust and healthy dose of skepticism to keep our financial system safe and efficient. thank you. bis central bankers ’ speeches