reforms were implemented in the european financial system itself. it is now thirteen months to the day since the euro - area countries took the greatest stride towards deeper financial integration since the launch of the euro. on 4 november 2014, the european central bank took charge of directly supervising the largest, most significant banks in the euro area – a step which erected the first pillar of a european banking union. as of today, the ecb supervises 123 banks which together account for more than 85 % of the aggregated total assets of the euro area ’ s banking sector. that makes the ecb one of the world ’ s largest supervisors. to me, the banking union is the most logical step to take in advancing and completing our monetary union. this is because the euro area ’ s single monetary policy relies on a deeply integrated and resilient financial system to be effective and efficient in pursuing price stability. indeed, european financial markets were already interconnected prior to the euro crisis. but it was the arrangement by which national authorities were solely responsible for banking supervision which sparked a build - up of risks that finally spread across the entire union, gravely endangering its very existence. this experience gave way to an understanding that banking supervision needed to be shifted to the european level. that step has delivered three concrete benefits. first, european banking supervision enables banks throughout the euro area to be supervised in a uniform manner and subject to the same high standards. these harmonised standards will emerge as national supervisors share their experiences with their international peers and adopt national best practices in banking supervision at the european level. second, european banking supervision makes it possible to effectively identify and manage cross - border challenges. this is a crucially important point because large banks usually operate in more than one country. third, switching banking supervision from the national to the european level will add a degree of separation between supervisors and the banks they supervise. this will prevent supervisors from handling “ their ” banks with “ kid gloves ” out of national interest. as you can see, we have placed high hopes in european banking supervision. today, thirteen months on from the establishment of the single supervisory mechanism – or ssm for short – it ’ s time to take a first look back. bis central bankers ’ speeches we are already seeing the benefits of the new regime in our day - to - day business. there are 123 mixed joint supervisory teams – or jsts for short – for the banks directly supervised by the ecb. bundesbank supervisors belong to 22 jsts for

joachim nagel : the current economic situation welcome words by dr joachim nagel, president of the deutsche bundesbank, at a club evening of the international club of frankfurt economic journalists, frankfurt am main, 21 november 2022. * * * 1 words of welcome ms schreiber, many thanks for your kind invitation and warm introduction. i am very pleased to join the ranks of the bundesbank presidents who, starting when the euro was introduced back in 1998, have been invited by the international club of frankfurt economic journalists to meet with its members for an exchange of views and ideas. like my three predecessors, ernst welteke, axel weber and jens weidmann, it is very important to me to communicate and interact with media representatives. in times of high inflation, it is all the more necessary to explain and contextualise what pushes inflation higher and how effective monetary policy measures are. as journalists, you have a particularly important role to play here as the link between an institution such as the bundesbank and the general public. that's because, in turn, communication with the public is key to the effectiveness of monetary policy and of economic policy in general. a current example is the proposal put forward by the gas price commission. unlike a price cap, the gas price brake does not distort price signals at all. however, for the full effect of the gas - saving incentives contained in this brake to be felt, the general public needs to correctly understand them. communicating in an accessible way with the outside world helps to create trust – and trust is an indispensable foundation for monetary policy. christine lagarde summed it up well recently. : " if people don't understand what i'm saying, how can they trust me? after all, today people don't trust someone only because the person expresses herself or himself in a complicated way " 1 your reporting makes a significant contribution to helping us achieve our monetary policy objectives. the way in which you explain and give context to this complicated subject matter helps your audience understand it. but we central bankers and economists also need to take care to express ourselves in a way that can be clearly understood. accessible communication fosters public trust – and that is what the success of our monetary policy measures hinges on. it is precisely this confidence in our ability and our determination to ensure price stability that will be vital in the coming months – because challenging times lie ahead. and the ecb governing council will have to continue