*  *  *  Members of the press, other guests and colleagues, The Financial Stability Department has existed since 2001, its task being to identify possible threats to financial stability and suggest ways in which these could be mitigated. In pursuit of this objective the department, on behalf of the Bank, publishes the Financial Stability Review semi-annually.
If we look at our history books, we find that one thousand years ago, the colonization of the Americas by Europeans had not even started. Ladies and gentlemen.