In these circumstances, the firm adoption of measures to overcome the crisis is not only the responsibility of the public authorities – a task to which a strong commitment was shown following the last G20 summit – but also of those responsible for managing and designing the business models of credit institutions. Spanish institutions, which so far have handled the difficulties comparatively better than those of banking systems in other developed countries, have to actively seek solutions to adapt their business model to the new realities of the banking sector both in Spain and internationally. They have to seek out the levers for change which will allow them to strengthen their business model and thus their income statements. Among the available options, that of redesigning their operating cost structure, at this point in time, seems unavoidable. However, this action alone will not be enough to overcome the pressures which affect and will continue to affect their income statements. At times it will be necessary and appropriate to turn to processes which take a step further and help institutions to exploit synergies and economies of scale. Thank you. 6  BIS Review 52/2009
European Central Bank: Press conference - introductory statement Introductory statement by Mr Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank, and Mr Lucas Papademos, Vice-President of the European Central Bank, at the press conference held in Frankfurt, 1 April 2004. *  *  *  Ladies and gentlemen, welcome again to our press conference. Before I proceed, I would like to remind you that I have conveyed the Governing Council’s sincere condolences to Jaime Caruana, Governor of the Banco de España, following the terrorist attacks in Madrid on 11 March 2004. I assured him of the Governing Council’s total solidarity with the Spanish people and the Banco de España. The Vice-President and I will now report on the outcome of today’s meeting of the Governing Council of the ECB. On the basis of our regular economic and monetary analysis, we have not changed our assessment that the current stance of monetary policy remains in line with the maintenance of price stability over the medium term. Accordingly, the key ECB interest rates have been left unchanged. The low level of interest rates also provides ongoing support to the economic recovery in the euro area. We will continue to monitor carefully all developments that could affect our assessment of risks to price stability over the medium term. Let me now provide a more detailed explanation of our decision, turning first to the economic analysis.