Christian Noyer: Challenges facing France’s Prudential Supervisory Authority Speech by Mr Christian Noyer, Governor of the Bank of France, President of the Prudential Supervisory Authority (Autorité de contrôle prudentiel) and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bank for International Settlements, at the press conference of the publication of the Annual Report 2011 of the Prudential Supervisory Authority, Paris, 14 May 2012. *  *  *  Ladies and gentlemen, Let me say first of all how pleased I am to host this press conference which has been organised to coincide with the publication of this second annual report of the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel (ACP). The “newness” of this institution, which was officially set up in 2010, has no doubt contributed to the dynamism that it has shown during this crisis period. Independent, but operating under the aegis of the Banque de France, the ACP has acted efficiently and quickly to ensure financial stability and enhance the protection of customers and clients of banks and insurance companies. It has also effectively projected France’s voice in international negotiations concerning its domains of competence. Before saying a few words about the challenges facing the Authority in 2012, I would like to develop two points that in my view best characterise 2011: the solidity of our financial system in a period of severe crisis on the one hand, and the evolution of our prudential supervision methods and instruments on the other.
During the year, the ACP thus developed a more cross-functional mode of operating, thereby responding to the intention that led the Government to merge the former authorities in 2010. The ACP’s College has set out priorities for the supervision of each of the two sectors in a coordinated manner, and the ACP has set up an autonomous and cross-functional research directorate. On the other hand, in line with international and European initiatives, the ACP’s supervisory methods are complemented by the “stress test” approach to ever more complex scenarios and by the monitoring of the systemic nature of certain institutions. Organised by the European authorities (the EBA for banks and the EIOPA for insurance companies) and the Basel Committee respectively and implemented concretely in France by the ACP, these approaches supplement the individual supervision of banks and facilitate the macroprudential supervision of the financial system. The ACP’s supervision methods have also fully taken on board its remit with respect to consumer protection, which is an essential condition for maintaining consumer confidence in the French financial sector. The ACP’s mandate is to promote, in coordination with the AMF – the report of our joint unit will be presented to you shortly – the sound conduct of market players’ commercial practices  2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  without hampering responsible financial innovation that is suited to each category of customers. In 2011, the ACP thus took a whole range of measures, of which I will only mention the main ones.