True, as the recovery gains momentum, and provided this translates into a sustained adjustment by inflation towards its target, the need for monetary policy to support the economy will tend to diminish. The US Federal Reserve has already begun to reduce its balance sheet at a gradual and predictable pace, and the ECB has slowed the pace of increase of its own balance sheet. This reduction in stimuli will extend the monetary policy headroom for acting effectively in the face of possible future crises. The monetary policy normalisation strategy can but be slow and will tend to be applied predictably, with close scrutiny of its impact both on economic growth and inflation and on financial stability. It is worth recalling that, in 2013, the markets rather hastily interpreted some statements by the Federal Reserve, the clarification or correction of which gave rise to a bout of turbulence, owing to the different forecasts as to the speed at which expansionary monetary policy would be abandoned or softened. That episode provided a lesson for all central banks that have applied unconventional policies, in two respects: monetary policy should be corrected very slowly, and the correction should be predictable to the markets. In sum, predictability and a clear communication strategy will be important in preventing adverse market reactions. Financial regulation and supervision The second area I would like to mention concerns the challenges in financial regulation and supervision.
Traditional banks are taking the new technologies on board, occasionally through strategic alliances with new technology firms. New companies are also being incorporated into the sector, ranging from small start-ups to large firms. The new firms must, however, win the confidence of consumers and investors,  6/7  something that traditional financial institutions have secured over a long period of time, anchored by strong regulation and financial supervision. From the standpoint of the regulators, the fintech challenge affects both prudential and consumer protection policies. From the prudential perspective, regulators must strike a balance between catalysing innovation and the efficiency that new technologies can provide, and maintaining a sound regulatory framework. The guiding principle should be to apply the same regulation for the same type of financial services. In this respect, as the presence of fintech increases, it might be useful to put greater emphasis on the regulation of services, instead of placing it on the institutions that provide these services. Turning to consumer protection policies, it is vital that investors and consumers should understand how the new services function and the attendant risks, including, for example, credit, cyber-security and privacy-protection risks. Here we should strengthen our information and financial education policies. We are mindful at the Banco de España of the need to step up our efforts in this area.