paris europlace international financial forum – paris, 9 july 2019 new frontiers in finance speech by francois villeroy de galhau, governor of the banque de france press contact : mark deen ( mark. deen @ banque - france. fr ; + 33 6 88 56 54 03 ). page 1 sur 5 ladies and gentlemen, it is a pleasure to be with you today : this paris - europlace international financial forum is more and more “ the place to be ”, as france and paris are increasingly stimulating first - movers in europe. the theme of this forum – “ new frontiers in finance ” – prompts us to look towards new territories that we have to explore and conquer. regarding finance, i will focus on two of them : digitalisation and green finance. but before looking at the future, let me stress two prerequisites for the present. * * i. two prerequisites for the present my first message is to welcome the new european team, nominated in brussels last week, starting with christine lagarde and ursula von der leyen. once again, albeit at the last minute, albeit under the threat of a crisis, europe has proved itself to be decisive and innovative. now, it is time to begin the fundamental work on a true financial eurosystem. let us look beyond brexit, and beyond the somewhat disappointing debates on the euro area budget. the top priority on the european agenda should be a financing union for investment and innovation, which will channel our abundant private savings through a combined banking union and capital markets union. firms need this in order to raise equity and find european venture capital ; keeping a european capacity in investment banking is a strategic imperative. financial players need this in order to conduct cross - border mergers : european banking consolidation is overdue, and it is indispensable, not to reduce competition – quite the opposite – but to reach the critical mass necessary to make digital investments and allow savings to circulate. and, lastly, the euro area needs it in order to finally have an effective economic stabilisation tool to weather the shocks affecting some countries : “ private risk sharing ” is effective between states in the united states. if one doesn ’ t want a fiscal union – duly noted –, one must make even more resolute progress on the capital markets union. we have talked enough about this, and it is now time to take concrete page 2 sur 5 measures : this must be the ambition

, but took on an historical and symbolic dimension. on 1 january 2002, we will have the honour of witnessing the largest currency changeover that the world has ever experienced. this will be the crowning achievement of a long economic and political process which led to the creation of monetary union on 1 january 1999. this unique event in european history will help to ensure lasting prosperity, which is not only in europe ’ s interest but that of the rest of the world as well. lastly, speaking in front of bankers, financial institutions, business executives and journalists, i would like to make the following remarks as regards the present situation : - first, the main message in the present exceptional circumstances, is that the first quality of all institutions, all economic leaders, all enterprises as well as households is to keep one ’ s nerves. the best gift we could give the terrorists would be to change our plans, to cancel endeavours, to delay decisions, to reduce investment or consumption. we, institutions, enterprises, individuals had and have projects : let us realize them, in time, and unchanged. - second, let us beware of fashion. it was still fashionable, a year ago, to embark on vibrant eloge of the new economy, to predict the end of the business cycle and to forecast for ever very high level of productivity progress and buoyant economic growth. to - day some kind of herd behaviour drives a lot of observers and actors in the opposite direction : overwhelming pessimism as regards the present situation and the economic future. both attitudes are equally totally inappropriate. it is up to the central banks to remain moderate in their judgments, pragmatic and lucid in the various circumstances and to offer an anchor not only for monetary and financial stability but also for stability of judgment. - third, fostering confidence is a major contribution of the eurosystem to the prosperity of the european economy. confidence is a very precious ingredient in the present european conjuncture, as recently emphasized by the european council in ghent : confidence in the euro, in price stability, in its ability to be a highly reliable instrument for savings, in its medium and long term solidity. confidence of the consumers in price stability underpins growth through dynamic household consumption – which is today a major motor of economic growth. confidence of the savers underpins growth through a favourable financial environment. thank you very much for your attention.