to be an enduring pillar of the international financial architecture. to that end, the g - 20 leaders agreed at the cannes summit last november that the fsb should expand its resources, and gain legal personality bis central bankers ’ speeches and greater financial autonomy. this will extend the fsb ’ s capacity to coordinate, monitor and assess financial reform. but, ultimately, it is up to the fsb ’ s member countries to ensure that the house of reform becomes the home to the financial system. full implementation is the responsibility of every member. we should expect no less. thank you. bis central bankers ’ speeches

reasons, it is clear that there is no room for complacency and that institutions must act to achieve tighter cost control and to rationalise their procedures. against a background of rising doubtful assets it seems essential to build up both the amount and quality of capital and to establish sound risk control mechanisms. lastly, institutions should continuously carry out stress testing and develop contingency plans to anticipate what line of action to take in the face of different market situations. regarding the supervisor, i believe there has been widespread recognition of the reliability and quality of spanish banking supervision. therefore this work should continue to cultivate a close relationship and permanent contact with institutions, but without relaxing the demands made of them. the last agent to which i wish to devote attention is households. in the current circumstances it is inevitable that households should regard the future with greater uncertainty and restrict their spending, stepping up their saving and reducing their level of indebtedness. the behaviour of households will be influenced by whether or not they are indebted and, if so, the weight of this debt burden on their current income. in the case of the more heavily indebted households ( in proportion to income ), the picture is more complicated since, to the prevailing uncertainty about the economic outlook may be added the tightening of financing conditions, which is largely a result of the financial turmoil. it is difficult to predict whether this tightening will continue, although money market rates ( the main benchmark in spanish mortgage loans ) now contain a substantial risk premium over the ecb ’ s official rates, currently at 4. 25 %. in addition, the adjustment phase will lead to a decrease in the high debt of households, which is a necessary step for them to be able to drive a fresh phase of high growth. as in the case of firms, households will also have to be asked to adapt to the changes. above all, this calls for a greater effort in training, acquiring professional skills and versatility. it would also be useful if energy saving could be included in households ’ day - to - day activities, although, as in other areas, the provision of proper incentives by the authorities ( particularly through energy price and taxation policies ) is crucial. i would like to end with a message of confidence on the spanish economy ’ s capacity for growth : the country ’ s productive foundations are much more solid than in the past and there has been a process of convergence with average european income levels which is unlikely to be reversed. spain is a