The financial sector has been the avant-garde of the globalisation process in Greece and has followed, albeit with some delay, the path laid by euro area financial institutions in speeding up consolidation, integration and internationalisation.
The Federal Reserve faces considerable challenges today in meeting the responsibilities that you have given us: for fostering price stability and maximum employment at a time of rapid change in the U.S. and global economies; for helping maintain a safe and sound banking system and stable and efficient payments and financial systems in the face of innovations in financial instruments and institutions; and for protecting and educating consumers as they take advantage of the greater variety and sophistication of financial instruments available to them.