We are delighted in the Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland to be hosting this event in Dublin and I would like to particularly welcome those of you who are visiting us here for the first time.
I would also like congratulate the organisers on having the foresight to choose, as long ago as last year, a topic for this conference which would prove so timely and interesting in the current environment! The conference programme is notable for both its diversity and its topicality.