and macroeconomic policy. the items on regulation can themselves be divided into two subgroups. on the one hand, the g20 decided to tighten or strengthen the regulatory framework applying to entities or activities that had already been regulated before the crisis. examples include : • a more demanding framework for the capital, leverage, and liquidity of banks, prepared by the basel committee on banking supervision ( bcbs ) and known as the basel iii accord since its initial exposition in 2010 ; bis central bankers ’ speeches • special regulatory treatment of systemically important financial institutions ( sifis ), such as additional capital ( or in the basel jargon, “ loss absorbency ” ) requirements ; and • additional disclosure obligations for banks. on the other hand, entities or activities that until 2008 were mostly outside of the scope of regulators were made subject to a comprehensive regulatory framework : • over - the - counter ( otc ) derivatives, • executive compensation, • credit rating agencies, • hedge funds, “ shadow banking ” ( i. e. entities and activities that are not regulated as banks, but present bank - like systemic risk profiles ) and, more recently, • financial benchmarks ( following the detecting of fraud in the setting of libor, the london interbank offered rate, and other similar reference rates ). all those initiatives that were envisaged by the g20 are translated into regulatory changes in us and europe. in the us, dodd – frank wall street reform and consumer protection act ( or known as dodd - frank act ) implements changes that, among other things, affect the oversight and supervision of financial institutions. the dodd - frank act creates the financial stability oversight council to oversee financial institutions. additionally, it provides for a new resolution procedure for large financial companies, a creation of a new agency responsible for implementing and enforcing compliance with consumer financial laws, introduces more rigorous regulatory capital requirements, affects significant changes in the regulation of otc derivatives, includes reform of the regulation of credit rating agencies, implements changes to corporate governance and executive compensation practices, incorporates the volcker rule, requires registration of advisers to certain private funds, and affects significant changes in the securitization market. in the eu, markets in financial instruments directive mifid is an important step in the biggest overhaul of financial markets regulation in the eu for a decade. however, the new regulatory framework consists of directive ( mifid 2 ) and regulation on markets in financial instruments ( mifir ). it is an integral part of the

european central bank : press conference a€ “ introductory statement introductory statement by mr jean - claude trichet, president of the european central bank and mr lucas papademos, vice - president of the european central bank, frankfurt am main, 2 april 2009. * * * ladies and gentlemen, the vice - president and i are very pleased to welcome you to today's press conference. we will now report on the outcome of today's meeting of the governing council. on the basis of its regular economic and monetary analyses, the governing council decided to reduce the key ecb interest rates by a further 25 basis points. this decision brings the total reduction in the interest rate on the main refinancing operations of the eurosystem since 8 october 2008 to 300 basis points. today's decision takes into account the expectation that price pressures will remain subdued, reflecting the substantial past fall in commodity prices and the marked weakening of economic activity in the euro area and globally. the latest economic data and survey information confirm that the world economy, including the euro area, is undergoing a severe downturn. both global and euro area demand are likely to remain very weak over 2009, before gradually recovering in the course of 2010. available indicators of inflation expectations over the medium to longer term remain firmly anchored in line with the governing council's aim of keeping inflation rates at levels below, but close to, 2 % over the medium term. a cross - check with the outcome of the monetary analysis confirms that inflationary pressure has been diminishing. after today's decision we expect price stability to be maintained over the medium term, thereby supporting the purchasing power of euro area households. the governing council will continue to ensure a firm anchoring of medium - term inflation expectations. such anchoring is indispensable to supporting sustainable growth and employment and contributes to financial stability. accordingly, we will continue to monitor very closely all developments over the period ahead. let me now explain our assessment in greater detail, starting with the economic analysis. reflecting the impact of the financial market turmoil, economic activity has weakened markedly in the euro area, as domestic demand has contracted in parallel with the downturn in the world economy. available data and survey indicators suggest that economic activity in the euro area has remained very weak in early 2009. it is likely to remain very subdued for the remainder of the year but is expected to gradually recover in 2010. the substantial fall in commodity prices since the summer of 2008 is supporting real disposable