In other countries, the uncertainties induced by the stubbornly high unemployment rate and the slow progress in structural changes are depressing economic sentiment and are holding back consumption and investment, despite the marked improvements in corporate profitability across sectors in 2003 & 2004. I do not think that the Eurozone is facing the fundamental problems that Japan faced over the last ten years.
With ECB Banking Supervision at the heart of the Single Supervisory Mechanism, we have an authority responsible for ensuring the safety and soundness of the European banking system, promoting financial integration, and ensuring consistent supervision by fostering harmonised practices based on high supervisory standards.