Small banks continue to play an indispensable role in financing local economies; the presence of sufficiently large intermediaries is necessary to  8  BIS Review 52/2006  ensure that more advanced services are widely available at low cost. The growth and internationalization of firms are facilitated by the growth and internationalization of banks.
Impact of accounting on financial regulation and supervisory reporting;  4. Managing risks on central bank balance sheets; and  5. Governance and financial reporting issues at central banks. On the first topic, the ECB has stepped up its efforts in monitoring international accounting developments over the last two years. There are two reasons underlying this.