Jean-Claude Trichet: ECB press conference – introductory statement Introductory statement by Mr Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank and Mr Vitor Constâncio, Vice-President of the European Central Bank, Frankfurt am Main, 4 August 2011. *  *  *  Ladies and gentlemen, the Vice-President and I are very pleased to welcome you to our press conference.
Institutions have generally made strong efforts to disclose exposures appropriately, but there are major difficulties in valuing the relevant assets, not least because some markets have effectively ceased to operate – so no price can be observed. It appears that some very high quality assets are valued at prices that embody extremely pessimistic assumptions about returns. Key segments of credit markets remain in difficulty.