As the Bundesbank Executive Board member responsible for cash and cashless payments, I am pleased to see the great interest with which the topic of cash is apparently being greeted. I recall some of you from the previous conferences or from other events, and it is nice to see you back here again.
Other factors slowing the recovery in housing include the fact that many people remain unable to buy homes despite low mortgage rates; for example, about 20 percent of existing mortgage borrowers owe more on their mortgages than their houses are worth, making it more difficult for them to refinance or sell their homes.