more difficult for very small enterprises. their fragile financial position may be one reason ; but there is an ongoing misunderstanding with the banks that the latter must seriously address. french households ’ savings must also adjust to the low interest rate environment. this is an opportunity to encourage more “ risky ” and more long - term investments, both in the interest of investors themselves and of our economy. today only 31 % of french households ’ financial investments are made up of risky assets, against 45 % in the euro area. this requires taking action in two directions. first, the decrease in interest rates should be gradually passed on to risk - free investment returns – this is why i proposed lowering the rate on the pel, the french housing savings plan, this is also why we must resolutely continue to lower the returns on life insurance invested in euro funds. second, new products should be developed : probably less liquid, with or without a capital protection over the long term, and possibly offering the best equity performance over time. a crucial point is to avoid any tax distortions to the detriment of these products compared to liquid and risk - free investments. it remains all the more essential to fully inform investors about the risks involved when they invest their savings ; two examples come to mind today, unit - linked contracts, and managers offering disintermediated financing. 3 ) my third and last collective wish for 2016 is that of financial stability and sound financial institutions. since the financial crisis, the regulatory framework and the supervisory and oversight architecture have been considerably strengthened. this was necessary, i believe no one here doubts it. in the banking sector, this involved implementing basel iii / crd4 - crr, finalising the tlac, the new anti - shock weapon, and setting up the european banking union, which now includes two effective mechanisms : the single supervisory mechanism, and - since 1 january - the single resolution mechanism. today, french banks are sounder : their core tier 1 solvency ratio stood on average at 12 % in september 2015, against 6 % at end - 2007. and contrary to the fears that have often been expressed, including by some of you, the current situation shows that these rules have not impacted lending and growth, in particular thanks to the positive effects of monetary policy. in 2016, the projects still underway should be completed. in particular in order to improve the comparability of internal models – and thus improve their credibility –, not to substantially increase overall capital requirements.

christian noyer : interview in le point interview with mr christian noyer, governor of the bank of france and chairman of the board of directors of the bank for international settlements, in le point, 9 august 2012. * * * markets were hoping that mario draghi and the ecb governing council would take strong action to give spain and italy a little breathing space... the ecb has chosen to do nothing! why? are you saving your ammunition for later? we haven ’ t heard the same thing! the governing council recently announced its intention to intervene on the bond market to allow a smooth transmission of monetary policy. the objective is to counter the emergence of excessive risk premiums on certain sovereign debts. naturally, this only makes sense if governments themselves decide to act and to activate the solidarity and support mechanisms of fiscal consolidation they have established. our operations will be on a sufficient scale to have a strong impact on the markets. we should be prepared to respond very rapidly, by focusing on short - term bonds. have no doubts about the governing council ’ s determination and its ability to act within its mandate. one gets the impression in this crisis that everyone is watching the boat sink without doing anything. to start with the ecb... that is incorrect! and unfair! it is the markets that are reacting in this way. european authorities have been responding to countless issues since the start of the crisis. they have launched a number of major, extremely technical projects which, ultimately, will reinforce monetary integration and governance within the european union. much progress has been made over the past five years to strengthen europe and clarify the rules on which no one really wanted to make headway. markets would like to have everything settled within five minutes. but there are 17 democracies in the euro area and 27 democracies in the european union. the time perspective of the markets is not that of democracies. like jean monnet, i believe that europe will be forged in crises. the only question that markets are asking is straightforward : are euro area countries prepared to support each other financially? they want a yes or a no... it ’ s more complex than that. markets lend money to governments and want to know whether they will be reimbursed. they want to be able to count, if necessary, on the intervention of the european stability mechanism ( esm ) [ programme intended to provide financial assistance to governments in difficulty, editor ’ s note ]. as creditors, they especially