This is the case when a Monetary Policy Report is going to be published; otherwise the process is slightly shorter. In total, around 30  4  BIS Review 77/2008  economists are involved in some phase of the forecasting work, together with the Executive Board members. The material for the monetary policy meetings is mainly produced in the Monetary Policy Department in close cooperation with the Executive Board. The process begins with a risk meeting. The participants at this meeting are the Executive Board, employees of the Monetary Policy Department, some employees from other departments and some advisers to the Executive Board. The purpose of the meeting is to capture at an early stage various types of risk and alternative sequences of events for the economy that we envisage in the future. The discussions at this meeting are relatively unbiased and take a broad perspective. It is at this meeting that the alternative scenarios begin to take shape, those that are later described in Chapter 2 of the Monetary Policy Report and that show how the economy might develop if particular events occur. The scenarios can be used as a kind of counter-example to explain why the Executive Board considers that the main scenario is the one that at present gives the most well-balanced monetary policy. It can also illustrate different risks that an individual member wishes to illustrate or perhaps even a scenario that one person prefers instead of the main scenario.
So far, 24 European central securities depositories, accounting for practically all euro area markets, have committed themselves to taking part. 2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  The second European initiative I would like to mention is SEPA, the Single Euro Payments Area. The goal of the SEPA Project is to make electronic payments as easy, convenient and straightforward for the residents of any euro area member country to carry out as are their cash payments in other countries in the union. The initial aim is to eliminate the differences between making a national payment and a cross-border one, although the benefits extend also to payments made in the national arena. What is involved is a further step in the ongoing integration of financial services in Europe. To achieve this, we must adapt to a new set of rules and uniform standards in Europe. But we have very little time remaining: Community legislation envisages SEPA being in place as from 1 February next year. It is a far-reaching project, necessitating changes in the relationship between paymentservices users and providers. That involves efforts and investment on the part of financial institutions, but also affects users, irrespective of their size. It is important that banks should strive to make the transition by their customers easier. In this connection, communications and advice to customers must be stepped up, informing them of the new circumstances ahead and offering them the necessary support in their migration to the new payments scenario.