The next step will be an Open Forum to be held at the Guildhall in November which will bring together policymakers, financial market participants and users, academics, media representatives and wider society to map a positive future for financial markets. Conclusions I hope the above gives some idea of the comprehensive set of regulatory reforms that have either been applied or are in train. They cover policies to increase the quantity and quality of capital, to fix appropriate liquidity requirements, to manage systemic risk, move closer to ending too big to fail; and to establish clear management and personal accountability. The chart in Annex 2 shows these initiatives and gives a broad indication of the timelines out to the start of 2019. This is a massive change agenda, absorbing a lot of resources at regulators around the globe, especially in the UK, and many times more resources in the regulated firms themselves. What are the consequences? I frequently get asked questions on this so let me try and give my – strictly personal – answers to the most common questions. Has the reform agenda been completed? I think most of the major planks are now in place, at least in design, but many have yet to be implemented and there are still details of components being debated; not least the ongoing reviews of elements of the capital framework by the BCBS. It will take at least until 2019 until most of the measures outlined in this lecture are broadly in force, with some taking longer.
Jean-Pierre Roth: Switzerland - a financial centre in the heart of the euro area Summary of a speech by Mr Jean-Pierre Roth, Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank, at the Belgian Financial Forum, Brussels, 16 February 2004. The complete speech can be found in French on the Swiss National Bank’s website (www.snb.ch). *  *  *  Switzerland is not a fortress. In relation to the rest of Europe in particular, it is an economy that is very much open to mutual exchanges - notably with regard to trade and finance. It is not by chance that Switzerland has become a major financial centre. This can be ascribed to a number of positive factors, including specialist knowledge, a long-established banking tradition, the quality of the financial infrastructure, and customers’ confidence in the soundness of the country’s financial institutions. Switzerland’s political stability, its high level of savings and the international standing of the Swiss franc have also enhanced the appeal of its financial system. Increasingly, however, Switzerland is not alone in offering such advantages. Moreover, the Swiss financial centre - like all the others - has to face the challenges of globalisation and the fight against financial crime. As banking secrecy does not afford any protection to funds of dubious origin, the Swiss authorities are able to combat money-laundering with a reasonable degree of efficacy. In this area, Switzerland has implemented measures that have received international recognition.