The financial crisis that we are currently facing may have caused a freeze on this development in some markets; all the more I urge us all to keep the momentum in this important process. The ECB remains firmly committed to fostering further financial integration. The successes of TARGET and TARGET2 demonstrate the importance of the work done in the field of market infrastructures.
Thus, interest rates are finding an effective channel for the whole currency area. Why financial stability is important ... Let me start by briefly reviewing why financial stability is so important. Achieving stability in financial markets is part of the wider goal of achieving macroeconomic stability. What happens if financial stability is missing – what can be done if there is a financial crisis?