A robust, resilient banking system is a prerequisite for a functioning credit market. Prudence as regards banks’ assets is essential to ensure safety for depositors and orderly access to funding markets. Confidence is indispensable.
As effective as communicating by email, telephone and video conference has now become, cooperation that is based on mutual trust primarily comes from direct personal contact and faceto-face interactions like those we are engaging in today. Ladies and gentlemen, Establishing networks and exchanging information across institutions and national borders is important in a globalised world, and will remain so.