The new principles for bank remuneration, which the international community have agreed within the framework of the Financial Stability Board, were established precisely in order to ensure that there is no incentive for operators and traders in particular to favour the most risky attitudes and decisions, leading to illusory profits in the short term at the expense of the long-term interests of the financial enterprises concerned and the stability of the financial system as a whole.
We know how much banks’ balance sheets have been affected by the provisions for bad debts linked to toxic assets. Since the market for these structured products is still in difficulty, should the banks fear further write-downs on structured products? That is a good question, but I do not believe that this is the most important problem facing European commercial banks today.