The performance of a clearly defined task - maintaining price stability in a way that is good for the union as a whole will be a heavy responsibility for each member of the Governing Council; in this sense they are all in the same boat. There are also many signs that power will gradually shift towards the centre and this in turn will affect recruitment. My guess is that the ECB will be able to attract personnel who are qualified, which in contexts like this is more important than their number. Fiscal policy Fiscal policy is a national concern but the national room to manoeuvre is conditioned by various EU regulations. The Treaty has general provisions to the effect that economic policy is to contribute to the achievement of Community objectives in accordance with BIS Review 50/1998  -4-  the principle of an open market economy with free competition. The Member States are to regard their economic policies as a matter of common concern and are explicitly required to coordinate them but the decisions are to be made on a national level. Then there are more specific agreements on matters like the scale of rates for value-added tax, government subsidies and rules for public procurement. These agreements, which are a limited constraint on the construction of taxes and public spending, have been concluded mainly for purposes other than stabilisation policy - to promote competition and establish a single market for capital, goods, services and labour.
By bundling financial and non-financial services, they are able to better meet the needs of consumers. Second, embedded finance by financial players. Regulated financial institutions are reinventing their business models and leveraging on technology to connect with customers at more and varied touchpoints. Financial institutions are “embedding” their offerings in an array of non-bank digital platforms in an attempt to reach new customers at lower acquisition costs. Embedded finance combines the benefits of platform economics with the trust premium that people still place with regulated financial institutions. Central banks and regulators should welcome both these developments. They offer the prospect of more efficient, more affordable, more inclusive financial services. 1/4  BIS central bankers' speeches  But we need to be alert to new sources of risk. If the distributor and underlying provider of a financial service are not the same entity, who is accountable to the customer? As the number of 3rd-party intermediaries involved in a financial service grows, there might also be increased operational risks. We will need to adapt our regulatory approaches. Pay greater attention to market conduct, consumer protection, and technology risks. Regulatory frameworks will need to become more modular and agile. Entity-based regulation remains relevant for the provision of key services such as deposit-taking, insurance, and the offer of securities. But for the growing number of players who offer niche financial services, we need to rely increasingly on activity-based regulation. This is all still fairly familiar ground, as the fundamental structure of financial services remains largely intact.