3- Indeed, it is quite clear that crypto-assets undergoing technical and economic trials bring  about not only opportunities to improve our payment systems but also material risks which on the contrary might weaken them if unaddressed, both from an efficiency perspective and a safety perspective through the introduction of new sources of fragmentation, instability and fraud. As many central bankers have pointed out, today’s crypto-assets do not satisfactorily offer  the qualities expected from a settlement asset to be used interchangeably with commercial bank money and central bank money, let alone to displace central bank money as the central reference of value, as the privileged settlement asset for wholesale transactions and as the last recourse settlement asset given its legal tender status. The reasons for this assessment are well known and documented and boil down to stressing that there are misnamed as « currencies » for three reasons: First, their value fluctuates enormously, preventing them from being used as units of account. For instance, the value of Bitcoin (not however representative of all crypto-assets) went up to more than 19 300 euros in December 2017 and has since fallen down to 7400 euros in September this year. And stablecoins represent an imperfect improvement in this field: their value aims to be relatively stable based on backed assets, but in fact fluctuates, in particular if they are not backed on safe assets.
These principles on corporate governance are largely part of those adopted in 1999 and subsequently revised by the OECD in 2004. They include equal rights and a level-playing field for shareholders, the role of stakeholders, disclosure and transparency, and board accountability. Corporate governance has direct implications on the behaviour of the organisation towards its employees, shareholders, customers, partners, banks included. Poor governance reduces the potential and, worse though, can lead to financial distress and even fraud, while well-governed companies will usually be more competitive than their rivals and will be able to bring in investors who will invest their money in the companies’ future growth. I will also add that no matter how relevant formal rules are to the proper functioning of an economy, it is essential to trust in business partners’ word given and their honesty. Whenever this is missing, not only dealings in goods and services, but also financial transactions are hit hard. Given that integrity, confidence and reputation weigh heavily on the economy, everyone pins his hopes on the business sector. Future wealth depends now more than ever on how this issue is dealt with. This is why we can assert that, in extenso, good corporate governance underpins the integrity and efficiency of financial markets. Moreover, for the banking field, in light of recent developments, I truly believe that increased ethics is to be welcomed. Thus, good practices in corporate governance are an essential ingredient of wealth and sustainable growth.