to the pandemic. the article highlighted certain feminine traits or aptitudes that contrast with those typically demonstrated by male leaders. cases in point are angela merkel ’ s honesty and the decisiveness of the president of taiwan and the prime minister of new zealand. use of modern technology was pivotal to the responses to the pandemic led by the prime ministers of iceland and finland. and the prime minister of norway was praised for her innovative approach to communication with the public regarding the pandemic. broadly speaking, the innovation, empathy, tact and care displayed by these leaders in their pandemic communication and management contrast sharply with other stances. i believe those studies suggesting, increasingly clearly, that female leadership can be distinct and beneficial are being borne out by the facts. gender gap report 2018 published by the world economic forum according to the world economic forum ’ s global gender report 2020, which covers 153 countries, iceland ranked as the most gender - equal country in the world for the 11th consecutive time, followed closely by other nordic countries such as norway, finland and sweden. despite being very different culturally, spain managed to achieve eighth position. this is not a bad result, but there is no room for complacency. public and private institutions and listed firms must drive this revolution. the cnmv recently published its new good governance code, in which it recommended that women occupy at least 40 % of the seats on ibex - 35 listed firms'boards by 2022, up from 30 % previously. i have already mentioned the banco de espana's research in this area. i would like to single out the research paper by one of our economists ( laura hospido ) together with two economists from the european central bank, studying the gender gap at the ecb. i will also briefly mention a second study from our structural analysis and microeconomic studies department, in which a similar assessment is conducted for the banco de espana. the ecb ’ s experience shows that a specific strategy to foster diversity can generate tangible benefits in the form of a better gender balance. in 2010, the ecb ’ s executive board implemented a marked shift in policy towards diversity by issuing a public statement and launching a diversity action plan. the action plan was supplemented in 2013 with explicit gender targets for the entire ecb hierarchy. the gender gap in the probability of promotion declined notably after the strategy was launched. entry - level economists typically join the ecb at the age of 30, many of them with a

firms and households remained solid, benefiting from the continued passthrough of our accommodative monetary policy stance to bank lending rates. the annual growth rate of loans to non - financial corporations increased to 4. 3 % in august, from 4. 0 % in july 2019, while the annual growth rate of loans to households remained unchanged at 3. 4 % in august. the euro area bank lending survey for the third quarter of 2019 indicates a slight easing of credit standards and increasing demand for loans to households, while demand for loans to firms remained broadly stable. our accommodative monetary policy stance will help to safeguard favourable bank lending conditions and will continue to support access to financing, in particular for small and medium - sized enterprises. to sum up, a cross - check of the outcome of the economic analysis with the signals coming from the monetary analysis confirmed that an ample degree of monetary accommodation is still necessary for the continued sustained convergence of inflation to levels that are below, but close to, 2 % over the medium term. in order to reap the full benefits from our monetary policy measures, other policy areas must contribute more decisively to raising the longer - term growth potential, supporting aggregate demand at the current juncture and reducing vulnerabilities. the implementation of structural policies in euro area countries needs to be substantially stepped up to boost euro area productivity and growth potential, reduce structural unemployment and increase resilience. the 2019 country - specific recommendations should serve as the relevant signpost. regarding fiscal policies, the mildly expansionary euro area fiscal stance is currently providing some support to economic activity. in view of the weakening economic outlook and the continued prominence of downside risks, governments with fiscal space should act in an effective and timely manner. in countries where public debt is high, governments need to pursue prudent policies and meet structural balance targets, which will create the conditions for automatic stabilisers to operate freely. all countries should intensify their efforts to achieve a more growthfriendly composition of public finances. likewise, the transparent and consistent implementation of the european union ’ s fiscal and economic governance framework over time and across countries remains essential to bolster the resilience of the euro area economy. improving the functioning of economic and monetary union remains a priority. the governing council welcomes the ongoing work and urges further specific and decisive steps to complete the banking union and the capital markets union. 2 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches we are now at your disposal for