practices too common standards alone are not sufficient because day - to - day work on financial stability requires practical solutions that cannot be implemented in isolation by a single jurisdiction. this does not mean that everything must be unified but bridges must be built between stakeholders, in accordance with their legal remits and constraints. at the european level, we pushed forward this approach through european agencies such as the european banking authority ( eba ), the european securities and markets authority ( esma ) and the european insurance and occupational pensions authority ( eiopa ) to help implement the standards consistently and ultimately by the creation of the banking union. the latter is wholly dedicated to the practical exercise of supervision, resolution and, at a later stage, deposit insurance. more specifically, we welcome the completion of the cooperation agreement guidelines prepared by the eba and mentioned in the last panel today. i stress their importance because they promote a multilateral cooperation framework agreement and set minimum requirements for achieving the rapid and consistent conclusion of the cooperation agreements between deposit guarantee schemes ( dgs ). these cooperation agreements will address operational cross - border challenges, 1 such as ensuring that depositors in eu branches of institutions headquartered in other member states are treated similarly to depositors in the home member state. the h2c ( home - host cooperation ) project, which has just been extensively presented is also a remarkable new step towards finding and experimenting with solutions to shared problems, and this must be encouraged. it is an example of the constructive cooperation between dis operators or authorities despite their diverse regulatory or operational approaches. these guidelines concern ( i ) the modalities for repaying depositors by local dgs at branches of banks established in other european member states, ( ii ) the modalities for the transfer of contributions from one dgs to another in the event of a credit institution ceasing to be a member of a dgs and joining another dgs, and ( iii ) modalities for mutual lending between dgss bis central bankers ’ speeches from a regulatory perspective, there is the example of the fsb key attributes that have been applied through the crisis management groups, with relevant authorities holding discussions to find ways to tackle the recovery and resolution of gsibs. practice and model diversity is a challenge, but not an obstacle for implementing efficient resolution strategies we have heard today that dgss may still be very diverse in terms of their status, functions, design, size, etc. this is also the case for supervisory and resolution regimes even

welcome, but the disclaimer remains the same : the funds should only be invested in sensible projects. however, the question of whether or not private investors deem an investment project to be sensible very much depends on the future economic prospects of the euro area and europe. and nobody would deny that uncertainty is rife in this regard at the moment – the “ brexit ” risk is just one source of uncertainty. is this the right time for german fiscal policy to step in – for example, by lifting public investment? while i would not deny that there is scope for some more public investment in infrastructure or education, it is worth noting that fiscal policy in germany is already in expansionary mode due to the cost of accommodating the refugees while the long - term sustainability of public finances calls instead for germany, with its demographic burden, to run a structural surplus. in any case, the sound state of the german economy does not necessitate an additional deficit - financed fiscal stimulus and – if such a measure were taken nonetheless – its positive spillover effects on other euro - area economies would be marginal at best. a simulation exercise conducted by bundesbank economists found that temporarily increasing public investment by 1 % of german gdp over two years would lift gdp in the rest of the euro area by a mere 0. 2 % in the second year. hence, a deficit - financed fiscal stimulus would be neither necessary nor helpful. that said, it is clear that banks need to adapt to the low - interest - rate environment. to use a metaphor coined by my colleague sabine lautenschlager, they “ should not try to just hold their breath until they surface from the low - interest - rate phase. they could rapidly run out of air. ” banks should scrutinise their business models, they should harness the benefits offered by digitalisation, and they should continue to improve their cost efficiency. with regard to banks ’ business models, i firmly believe that it is in banks ’ own interest to strive for high standards. banks should refrain from running questionable business models – those based squarely on exploiting tax loopholes, say. banks have to make sure that their businesses conform not only with the law, but also with ethical standards – indeed, just because something is not explicitly prohibited doesn ’ t mean it ’ s necessarily allowed. 5. conclusion ladies and gentlemen if you ’ re facing a strenuous challenge you should at least make sure your energy intake is adequate. so on that