clear that demand for senior sbbs would be enhanced by more extensive reforms that would encourage banks to adjust their current holdings of government debt. still, there is a diversity of opinion among taskforce members as to whether such banking regulation reforms are needed for success ( especially in relation to the fostering of banking union ), while taking into account the important role for non - bank investors in sovereign debt markets. after the necessary regulatory adjustments have been implemented, market development should be led by demand from investors. over time, a deep and liquid market could develop. the senior security could become a benchmark low - risk asset, which the euro area as a whole currently lacks. with such an asset, banks would be safer and capital markets more efficient. accordingly, the sbbs asset class could support the completion of banking union, capital markets union and monetary union, without weakening market discipline and without taking steps towards fiscal risk sharing. at the same time, there are many other factors at work in driving the dynamics of european integration on all three fronts and it is important to bear in mind the interactions between sbbs and these myriad other influences. as discussions on the nature and extent of european integration continue to unfold in the coming months, the taskforce report may be helpful in providing guidance on the potential role of sbbs in the broader design of the european monetary and financial architecture. 3 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches diversity let me turn to my third topic : diversity in the financial services industry. the inclusion of this issue as part of this year ’ s european financial forum is indicative of the welcome and necessary recognition of the importance of improving diversity across the financial services industry. at the central bank of ireland, we have increased our focus on diversity over the last couple of years, in relation both to the firms that we regulate and also ourselves. we have focused on diversity from a regulatory perspective because there is strong research to show that diversity at senior levels of regulated entities can help to reduce the likelihood of group think, increase the level of challenge and improve decision making and risk management. there is also a clear connection between the diversity in an organisation and its culture. these are all attributes that as a regulator we care about. group think, in particular, was identified in the nyberg report as a contributing factor to the financial crisis in ireland. the financial services industry can certainly expect to see a continued increase in the intensity and intrusiveness of our engagement on diversity. as an employer, we see the importance of

international finance services and ireland the central bank of ireland has been focused on brexit since the announcement of the uk referendum. at a macroeconomic level, we monitor the impact of brexit on the irish economy and assess the potential macro - financial risks that may arise as a result of brexit over different forecast horizons. so far, the main channel by which brexit has had a macroeconomic impact has been through the 15 percent depreciation of sterling against the euro since the referendum. this has affected exporters to the uk but also contributed to a decline in good prices in ireland, given the important role of imports from the uk in the irish consumption basket. the buoyancy of domestic demand and global economic conditions has allowed the irish economy to expand at a robust level, despite brexit. still, we remain of the view that brexit will have a long - term negative impact on the irish economy, to the extent that it leads to trading frictions between the uk and the 1 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches eu27 and affects long - term uk economic performance. turning to the financial sector, one part of our work has been to ensure that irish - resident financial firms with uk exposures are making adequate preparations for brexit. even if firms may hope for a soft type of brexit, it is essential that all entities with significant exposures are prepared for downside risks. in addition, brexit is driving an expansion in both the size and complexity of the internationallyorientated section of the irish financial services industry. in engaging with firms, it is clear that there is considerable uncertainty and complexity for firms in dealing with brexit. among the issues raised by firms are : risk transfer ; appropriate governance structures ; contract continuity ; and the treatment of third country branches by both the home and host regulators. this uncertain environment is a complicating factor, since applicants for authorisation need to prepare robust plans that deal with a range of scenarios. the european regulatory system is hard at work in formulating the supervisory guidance on the many thorny issues raised by brexit : the central bank of ireland is heavily involved in the design of these policies through our participation in the ssm and the european supervisory authorities. at the same time, the final impact of brexit on the financial services industry depends on the outcome of the negotiations between the eu and uk : it is too early to tell. many types of entities – including banks