The second is more traditional: to protect the financial interests of the customers by assessing and, when necessary, enforcing compliance with prudential regulation. The third emerged later, around conduct towards customers. Indeed the Central Bank’s own mission statement focuses on these priorities at a very high level – ‘Safeguarding Stability, Protecting Consumers’. Let’s look at these 3 areas in more detail.
First and foremost is the need to proceed along the path of structural reforms, with the firm implementation of the Lisbon strategy, as refocused and reinforced by the EU Council. This is crucial to increase the euro area’s growth potential, foster job creation, and increase the resilience of the economy in the face of shocks.