last year. there are probably a number of reasons for this development. for one thing, the concept of the optimum conduct of monetary policy has evolved. the issue on the agenda today is the search for monetary policy rules, transparency and credibility. the sometimes too mechanistic views of the past on the fine - tuning effects monetary policy has on economic activity have thus taken a back seat. the transmission process has also turned out to be much more complex than originally thought and cannot be restricted to one or only a few parameters. nevertheless a central bank must not disregard the sensitivity of investment when trying to estimate its impact. in the light of sometimes heated debate surrounding the relevance of the user cost of capital in explaining investment behaviour, other links between monetary policy and investment decisions have gained increasing weight in the last few years. the importance of financial constraints and their main origins are now being debated extensively. the participants in this conference will surely have a few things to say on this issue. in this area the institutional pattern of relationships between enterprises and an economy ’ s sources of financing is of major importance. how significant is it if enterprises borrow funds more through banks or on the capital markets? how important is sufficient capitalisation for enterprises? what role does the balance - sheet structure of banks or competition among banks play in the willingness to grant loans? these and many more questions are vital and are by no means only of theoretical interest nowadays. it has frequently been predicted that the structure of financial systems and corporate finance will change in the wake of the technological progress in the financial markets and possibly also in connection with european monetary union. in the past, bank loans played a predominant role in corporate finance in germany and in most other countries in continental europe. this has changed somewhat of late and a further development towards increasing direct financing through the capital market is to be expected. there is wide speculation as to how this will affect investment. for instance, will more direct access to a broad capital market tend to ease the financial constraints - or, conversely, will the investment process become more disruption - prone owing to the diminished role of bilateral relationships between banks and enterprises? will some enterprises profit by such changes and others be at a disadvantage? and so on. naturally, the structure of the financial system is shaped by many factors, and the legal framework is only one of many aspects. before a decision is taken on the actual formulation of these legal provisions, the central banks will certainly be consulted. therefore, it is important for us at the central banks

christian noyer : where are we 11 months before e - day? speech delivered by christian noyer, vice - president of the european central bank, on the occasion of the forum " tremplin pour l'euro " in courchevel, france, on 2 february 2001 * * * ladies and gentlemen, just over two years ago, the european union adopted its own single currency. less than 11 months from today, we will be paying with euro banknotes and coins in our everyday transactions. by many measures, this development could justifiably be considered an achievement of historic proportions. with the arrival of euro banknotes and coins, the process of introducing a single european currency initiated in maastricht in 1991 will finally be complete. today, the minds of european central bankers, the banking community and many other interested parties are certainly focused on the immense organisational and logistical task entailed by the cash changeover. allow me nevertheless to briefly reflect on some of the developments that the euro has already triggered. first of all, the irrevocable fixing of exchange rates between the participating currencies and the introduction of the euro on 1 january 1999 can rightly be considered as the " crowning " of the single market. the euro is indeed " one money for one market ", as the studies supporting the original delors report succinctly put it. the euro has undoubtedly become an important catalyst in promoting the further integration of product and capital markets of euro area economies. more importantly, the policy - makers in the member states have realised that being part of a monetary union will not only produce substantial economic benefits. it also imposes certain constraints on their own policies. rigidities in labour and product markets, inappropriate fiscal policies and fragmented regulatory frameworks all have a negative impact on the economic conditions, proper functioning and growth potential of the euro area as a whole. tackling these challenges has become a clear political priority over the last few years. the ecb's success in maintaining price stability has certainly provided - and continues to provide - a crucial foundation for these efforts, by stabilising inflation expectations and instilling a " stability consensus " across europe. in this sense, the euro is one factor which is continuing to push euro area economies towards more balanced budgets and greater competitiveness. another important aspect of the transformation of the european economy that has been stimulated by the advent of the single currency is the increasing financial integration within the euro area. indeed, from