Externally, the expansion of global economic trade and real GDP growth should counteract the changes in the effective exchange rate of the euro, which is back to its level of early 1999. Domestically, the conditions for investment should improve further, given the continued adjustment efforts of firms to enhance productivity and profitability, the low level of interest rates and generally favourable financing conditions.
Supervision will be calibrated to the risks posed by the different firms in the sector and will involve applying the existing rule-book, strengthened as necessary to plug the holes revealed by the crisis. In particular, we will not be slow to implement new stronger rules, being developed as we speak, by international bodies such as the Basel Committee.