As usual, the Governing Council devoted part of its meeting to an exchange of views on recent economic, monetary and financial developments. This discussion took place against the background of conflicting messages.
We must strike the right balance between providing a workable level playing field and at the same time providing sufficient flexibility for the peculiarities of national financial systems. The leitmotif for financial regulation ought to be international consistency, not one-size-fits-all. A uniform set of rules and regulations would deprive us of the benefits of international regulatory competition.