##ting the proceeds and keep our balance sheet as it is for now, so quantitative easing hasn ’ t stopped. we have long - term liquidity operations which could be used again if necessary. and we even have instruments that were announced but have never been used. but even with all this, if we were facing new situations in the future, i ’ m confident we could be creative again and come up with efficient instruments, all within our legal mandate. you didn ’ t mention no - deal brexit among the risk factors? that is definitely a material risk for the near future, but for now it ’ s not an explanation of the current worsening slowdown. the anxiety and pessimism we see is due to the global factors i mentioned. that said, we ’ ve worked a lot with the bank of england to minimise the possible consequences of a no - deal brexit, and our joint conclusion is that most of the risk in financial services could be handled by the market players themselves, save for the derivatives clearing 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches question. but that question has now been dealt with by legal assurances given by the european commission for the next year. do you feel the bank of england and the ecb can continue to cooperate smoothly, whatever the brexit scenario? i have no doubt about this in both dimensions of our activities – monetary policy and banking supervision. our dialogue is very intense, very close. in the case of no - deal brexit, keeping that confidence will be essential to manage the situation. were you surprised by the change of guidance of the federal reserve, hinting that rate hikes might be delayed? does that complicate your task? i won ’ t comment on the fed ’ s decision and communication. let me point out that the us economy is likely at the end of a cycle, and this is a moment that is always difficult for markets in their search for information. that ’ s not the case in europe, where we are lagging in terms of recovery and where the normalisation of monetary policy is only beginning. the second element to keep in mind is that the nature of the risks we ’ re all facing today is fundamentally political : trade negotiations, relations between the united states and china, brexit, the political situation in emerging countries, and even some political developments in europe. putting a price on political risk is something markets don ’ t do well. it ’ s not business as usual where you

banks which provide extensive services while disincentivising those which are not responsive to the banking needs of the community, including the underprivileged. furthermore, the nature, scope and cost of services need to be monitored to assess whether there is any denial, implicit or explicit, of basic banking services to the common person and banks have been urged to review their existing practices to align them with the objective of financial inclusion. conclusion there is a need of constant innovation in retail banking. in bracing for tomorrow, a paradigm shift in bank financing through innovative products and mechanisms involving constant upgradation and revalidation of the banks ’ internal systems and processes is called for. banks now need to use retail as a growth trigger. this requires product development and differentiation, innovation and business process reengineering, micro - planning, marketing, prudent pricing, customisation, technological upgradation, home / electronic / mobile banking, cost reduction and cross - selling. while retail banking offers phenomenal opportunities for growth, the challenges are equally daunting. how far the retail banking is able to lead growth of the banking industry in future would depend upon the capacity building of the banks to meet the challenges and make use of the opportunities profitably. however, the kind of technology used and the efficiency of operations would provide the much needed competitive edge for success in retail banking business. furthermore, in all these customers ’ interest is of paramount importance. the banking sector in india is demonstrating this and i do hope they would continue to chart in this traded path. thank you.