Ladies and gentlemen, To be sure, living with the euro is not just plain pleasure. There is no prize without an effort. Let me just pick out three challenges that I see for the near and medium-term future. The first challenge is the smooth changeover to euro banknotes and coins.
In Germany bank bonds account for 33% of the credit volume, in France for 17%.10 Differences in the size of companies, in bankruptcy law, and in the intermediation role of banks are reflected in these percentages.11 In the last two years corporate bonds grew faster in Germany compared to France, although variations in the underlying economic structure are far from having been evened out.