Nor is this a complete assessment, focusing as it does on the prudential angle as opposed to market liquidity considerations. I make them to illustrate the point that it is sensible for us to maintain a spirit of active enquiry about these sorts of issues, and to track developments so that we can intervene if we are concerned that the regulatory system is being arbitraged or simply encouraging the wrong behaviour at firms. Conclusion  We, together with many others, have done a huge amount to make the financial system safer over the last 10 years. But the lesson of financial history is that unless we are absolutely vigilant, and keep questioning both firms and ourselves about evolving and emerging developments in the markets we oversee, then this safety can easily slip through our hands. So our horizon-scanning will be an important part of our effort in the coming period. And as the PRA is holding itself to a flat nominal budget this year I would like to finish by asking any birdspotters present here today to lend us their binoculars, in the national interest.
With reference to the question above, I can tell you that there have been several reasons to begin with these three countries, but the main reason for which we compare today the present situation in Sweden, Turkey and Romania is due to the diligent and assiduous activity of the Ambassadors of these two countries in Bucharest. Then, I would like to salute their presence here today: His Excellency Mr. Anders Bengtcén, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden, and His Excellency Mr. Ömür Şölendil, Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey and to particularly extend my gratitude to them and to all the persons involved in the materialization of this conference. I also thank Mr. Klas Eklund, Senior Economist at the Swedish Bank SEB and Adjunct Professor of Economics at the Lund University and Mr. Çağri Memişoğlu, Deputy General Manager at Garanti Bank Romania. There are, of course, historical links between the three countries. I do take this opportunity to highlight a few of them. With the Republic of Turkey one could go back to the proclamation of the new state as a republic, last century, and even more, centuries of ties between the Romanian Principalities and the Ottoman Empire. I also like to notice the connection between our two central banks. In the National Bank of Romania’s archives there are letters, exchanged between Governor Mitiță Constantinescu and Governor Salâhattin Çam, regarding the organization of a conference for the governors of the central banks in the Balkanic Coalition, in November 1937, in Ankara.