The Annual Report is an important instrument for the ECB to provide the European public and its directly elected representatives with detailed explanations of its monetary policy and other activities. It thus complements the various other channels through which the ECB is held to account such as, in particular, the quarterly testimonies before your Committee.
Therefore, participation in the global banking market did not work to save these countries from fundamental information, banking and supervisory weakness. The fact that the information, credit and supervisory cultures had not yet changed, even with the participation of foreign banks and the extension of inter-bank credit, meant that ultimately these financial systems were proved fundamentally flawed.