It is an important precedent, which shows that when needed the euro area can take important decisions and cooperate swiftly. The Eurogroup probably won't need to meet regularly in this format – as this would risk overshadowing the finance ministers’ meetings – but now at least it is an option, a feasible one. Let me give you another example of ongoing political integration. The current crisis has shown the need to strengthen prudential supervision and, in particular, its links with central banking. This is a recommendation contained in various documents and reports, in particular that of the Financial Stability Forum’s to the G7 Ministers and central bank governors. Several countries will be moving in this direction. In the US the Federal Reserve will receive  4  BIS Review 20/2009  greater responsibilities for macro-prudential supervision. The euro area has a centralised decision-making process for monetary policy but a de-centralised system of supervision. The conclusion is obvious: cooperation between supervisors needs to be much stronger within the euro area. This also implies that the ECB, which conducts the monetary policy for the euro area, should be entrusted with greater supervisory powers, in particular concerning macro-prudential supervision. There should be a broad consensus on such a proposal among euro area members. However, this can be implemented only by activating article 105.6 of the EU Treaty, which requires unanimity of the EU member states. Will some noneuro area members oppose this? A final word on political union.
So, have we done enough in terms of financial inclusion? 14. The pandemic has taught us that we must deepen our commitment to financial inclusion. And we should try to weave that into our financial development objectives going forward. In fact, our ability to enhance the financial inclusion role can be helped hugely by technology. With technology, our banking system can provide a more equitable and fairer access to banking services for all. 15. And this brings me to the second role the financial system can play – to build a smarter financial system. Let me share with you an example of how a smarter financial system can help promote financial inclusion. For a long time, SMEs have found it difficult to obtain bank financing without collateral, because banks lack reliable and timely financial data to assess the repayment ability of SMEs. 16. We believe that the introduction of the Commercial Data Interchange can help address this long-standing pain point. This next-generation financial data infrastructure can facilitate banks’ access to customers’ commercial data with their consent. With such data, banks can apply advanced data analytical tools for credit risk assessment. This could allow corporates, especially SMEs, without sufficient collateral or credit history to borrow more quickly, easily and at a lower cost. It is a win-win situation as this will also enhance banks’ risk management capability and unleash new business opportunities. 17. So, we strongly encourage banks, large or small, to embrace digital transformation to provide fair and efficient financial services to customers.