Studying the national and international economic environment, issuing banknotes and coins, including in our case printing banknotes, and controlling and sometimes actually developing reliable and efficient payment systems are three activities closely linked with monetary policy, activities which the National Bank of Belgium developed long ago and which we intend to continue to pursue in cooperation with our partners in the Eurosystem.
Moving forward, we are optimistic that positive growth will be sustained this year, that the balance of payments will continue to yield a healthy surplus, and that our banking system will remain solid through the turbulence. Still, we need to be vigilant in guarding the economy against the spillover effects of the global crisis.