, stability of the lev, and stability of our monetary regime. i will say once again what i have stated repeatedly : the only exit from our currency board monetary arrangement is our entry into the euro area and the adoption of the euro. that will happen when all necessary conditions for this are fulfilled. we are not at this stage yet ; however we are working hard in this direction. i should now like to say a few words about our immediate priority tasks. first, we are making sure the measures resulting from the asset quality review are strictly applied with a focus on the capital buffer replenishment plans as prescribed for some of the banks. second, we are finalising the plan to further enhance the work of the banking supervision. that is a continuation of the plan we have been implementing for the last almost two years now and whose fulfilment has produced good results. the new accents are : internal regulations, 1 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches information systems, and increase of resources, including appointment of the additional number of people as provided for in the original plan, which, unfortunately, takes more time than we expected. third, we adopted a combination of measures to make the already developed system for recovery and resolution of banks fully functioning. in this area we have prioritised two sets of measures : the approval of resolution plans for the systemically important domestic banks ( something that we have already done for the subsidiaries of eu banks ) ; and the joint work with the ministry of finance of possibilities for the bnb to provide liquidity support. fourth, we have thoroughly analysed the issue of nonperforming loans ( npl ), both at banking system level and at an individual bank level, and we are developing comprehensive measures which would create conditions for reduction of these loans, including strengthened loan - loss provisions, higher npl write - offs, improved collateral valuations, enhanced disclosure practices, and strengthened data collection. fifth, we are continuing the efforts to bring the regulatory framework fully in line with the eu law. for example, we are drawing up a completely new law on payment services and payment systems which, inter alia, would strengthen the requirements for security of payments made electronically and via internet. i mention all these priority tasks of the bnb because for their performance we would largely rely on our constructive partnership with you, as we have done so far. of course, we are well aware of the specific challenges that you too are facing. the strong pressure on profitability with a

must ensure we achieve the same level of risk mitigation – in other words, the “ same regulatory outcome ”. and, if and when for certain crypto related activities this proves not to be possible, where we can find no way to mitigate and manage the risk to the extent necessary, that is to say to the extent such risk is managed in other parts of the financial system, we should not let activities proceed. let me give an example of how this approach works in the development of the regulatory standards for stablecoins should they be used as part of systemic payment systems. this is an area in which i have been deeply involved as the chair of the international committee on payments and market infrastructure ( cpmi ) at the bank for international settlement. together with the international organization of securities commissions ( iosco ), the cpmi is responsible for the international standards for financial market infrastructures, including systemic payment systems. the standards, the principles for financial market infrastructures ( pfmi ), were established a decade ago and are intended to be technology neutral. cpmi - iosco has, over the past two years, worked through the details and the risks of stablecoin arrangements used to make payments to determine where the existing standards, the pfmi, can simply be applied to stablecoin arrangements and where, given the novel features of stablecoins, further guidance is needed, for example where technology has made possible structures that were not envisaged when the pfmi were agreed. the objective of such further guidance is to ensure we achieve for stablecoins the level of risk mitigation we expect of payment systems that are, or are likely quickly to become, of systemic scale. so, for example, if a stabecoin is being used as a ‘ settlement asset ’, in transactions – in other words, as the means of settlement or the ‘ money ’ – it must be as safe as the other forms of money – central bank money or commercial bank deposits – that is currently used as the settlement asset in payments systems. so the guidance makes clear that if used for this purpose, the holders of such stablecoins must have a clear legal claim that enables them to redeem the coin within the day and at par in central or commercial bank money. to meet the international standard, stablecoin issuers will have to demonstrate they can meet this requirement – in much the same way that commercial banks that issue deposit based money have to be able to repay