Summary Let me now briefly conclude by summarising the main points of my intervention: Several difficult challenges are faced by the euro area economy in general and the private pension funds sector more specifically: 1.  the ageing population, where I see an greater need on the side of public authorities and private pension funds to foster conditions that encourage and are conducive to saving, particularly in countries with a strong ageing of the population.
2  BIS Review 8/2004  In China, almost no financial institutions offer below-benchmark interest rate on deposits. While in other countries, many banks set their deposit rate below the central bank’s benchmark rate.