particular importance are the export of chemicals and related products ( accounting for 78 % of irish exports to germany ). machinery and transport equipment was another double - digit ( 11 % ) export share. germany was the 4th largest provider of foreign direct investment ( fdi ) inflows into ireland in 2020, accounting for 3 % of all fdi flows into ireland. and 160 german foreign affiliate firms accounted for over 34, 000 jobs in ireland, and over €10bn of turnover, with substantially greater involvement in trade activities ( both imports and exports ) than domestic firms. 5 since 2010, irish goods and services exports to germany have grown by an annual average of 10. 3 %. over the same period, german exports to ireland grew by 5. 2 %. events like today are important to reinforce that relationship. in my first speech as governor of the central bank of ireland, back in 2019, i spoke about resilience through some of the big changes we as a society are facing, in particular the changing financial system, technological change, and climate change. what i really want to talk to you about today, is not beheadings and patronage ( as interesting as this history may be! ) but to pick - up on some of these transitions. the transition of the financial services ecosystem the financial services ecosystem is under fundamental transition. the digitalisation of banking and payment services through technology - led change is transforming both the sector and the consumer experience. a range of new entrants are entering the market and new and incumbent business model are shifting to mobile and online delivery. getting this transition right will be key to ensuring the sector serves the needs of consumers and the economy into the future. across europe we are seeing, for example, the rapid evolution of traditional banking services being provided to consumers, the transformation in the electronic payments area, including the emergence of, and consumer demand for, instant payments. we are seeing new challenger banks targeting the more attractive aspects of traditional financial service provision. the development of new business models and product categories are being driven by the advent of open banking or new cloud - based and blockchain - based technologies. we are seeing a range of structural changes taking place from sector consolidation through m & a and the outsourcing of other cash - related activities to third parties. we are seeing the ever - increasing role of data and data - analytics in financial services provision. and we ’ re seeing the pivot to a net zero carbon economy where banking has an important role to

, the governing council has increased interest rates on three occasions, totalling 75 basis points, since last december. looking ahead, the governing council has signalled that it will exercise strong vigilance to ensure that risks to price stability do not materialise and that inflation expectations are kept firmly anchored. as we have emphasised consistently since last december, future interest rate decisions are not predetermined and there is no pre - commitment to any future policy action - either in terms of timing or scale. the governing council always bases its actions on its latest assessment of the risks to price stability, taking account of the most up - to - date information and analysis of the economic and monetary situation and prospects. doing this ensures that the euro area recovery, which is now widely projected by all the major economic forecasters, takes place in an environment of price stability. financial results i will now briefly mention our financial results for the year, the full detail of which is contained in the annual report. in 2005, the central bank recorded a profit of €122 million, compared with the equivalent figure of €107 million for the previous year. the surplus income paid by the central bank to the exchequer in respect of 2005 was €109. 2 million. an amount of €45 million, representing the net proceeds of coin issued during the year, was also transferred to the exchequer. conclusion to conclude, i would like to express appreciation to the staff of the central bank and financial regulator, for their work and commitment throughout the year. i would also like to thank the members of the board of the central bank and financial services authority of ireland for their efforts, advice and diligence through another busy and challenging year. i would also like to thank the chairman and board of the irish financial services regulatory authority for their co - operation throughout the year so ensuring continued excellent working arrangements between the bank and the financial regulator. this concludes my opening remarks. my colleagues and i are now on hand to answer any questions you may have.