These reforms are crucial, as monetary policy can obviously not be the  only game in town, and less and less so as we progressively close the output gap. Now, the question that comes to mind, especially here in Germany, is: given this progress, should we stop pursuing an accommodative monetary policy? At this stage, the answer is clearly no. Without monetary stimulus, the recovery in inflation would not yet be self-sustained or durable throughout the euro area. That is why we are maintaining an accommodative stance while adapting its intensity. Regarding this intensity, we decided to cut our monthly asset purchases by € – from € to € – starting next month. We did not deem it necessary to launch a new series of targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTROs) after the last one today. And we – including Mario Draghi and myself – clearly stressed the limits of negative interest rates. Let me add the following: I often read comments describing our debate within the Governing Council as a “predetermined” one, between the hawks on one side and the doves on the other. I don’t think this is accurate: in all our monetary policy decisions, what I believe matters is to take a pragmatic approach, based on a thorough assessment of the present economic environment in the euro area and of the specific structure of its financing channels. This is why our forward guidance now is this one, based on our current information.
On the costs side, the digital transition involves preparing for shifts in jobs and in skills, through enhanced dialogue with social partners. Moreover, it calls for major IT investment aimed at providing services that remain aligned with customer needs, reducing structural costs and improving regulatory compliance. IT systems will need to be – and this is far from simple – more secure so that they provide strong protection against cyber-risks, but at the same time more flexible and open to interconnectivity. Our duty as regulators in this revolution is obviously not to discourage innovation, but to ensure a level playing field with FinTechs – taking into account their lifecycle according to a “proportionality principle” – and still more tomorrow with bigger data platforms, be they GAFAs or their equivalents. This level playing field will have to apply for capital or liquidity requirements, for prudential supervision as well as for data protection: if you play the same game, you have to obey the same rules. 3/9  BIS central bankers' speeches  In addition to adjustments to business models, cross-border bank consolidations in the euro area would also help tackle this efficiency issue. The Banking Union provides both the justification and the framework for such a financial integration – we still lag far behind the American market in this respect. Cross-border consolidations on a sound and safe basis would make banks better able to diversify their risks across the euro area, and channel savings more effectively towards investments across borders.