6  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Pages/speeches/default.aspx  6  happy to debate this and I expect there will be good grounds for some exemptions. We will seek views on this, and weigh the costs and benefits, before deciding how to move forward. Sharp edges  So while the design of the reform programme is clear, we are still mid-step in implementing it. Of course things could go wrong, in transition or in the end-state. The world certainly gives us plenty to worry about. But I am absolutely unwilling to have things go wrong because we have retreated from the reforms agreed over the last eight years. For the avoidance of doubt: what was intended will be implemented. I hear many pleas for “tweaks”. Some of these are not quite as modest as is claimed. We are wise to the disguise. But we will of course work to identify and pursue opportunities to give a smoother finish to the reforms, addressing unintended consequences. Solvency II provides one example. It introduced a risk margin: the compensation that a third party would require to absorb the assets and liabilities of another firm that runs into trouble. This provides an extra degree of protection for policyholders, and therefore advances the PRA’s objectives. But because of its design under the current legislation, the risk margin is very sensitive indeed to risk-free rates. This level of volatility is not justified by the historical evidence and does not in my view serve a useful purpose.
Andrew, it has been an absolute pleasure to serve as one of your guerrillas, and I very much look forward to working hand in glove with you in our new roles. For the 1,580 banks, building societies, credit unions, insurers and major investment firms we supervise, 1  there is a simple message about my approach to the role of running the PRA . That approach is: more of the same. That means supervision which is firm but fair, using all of the latest analytical tools and techniques, together with a healthy dose of common sense. My job is to serve the public interest by focusing on the objectives given to us by Parliament: promote safety and soundness, protect insurance policyholders, and – secondary to both – facilitate effective competition. These three objectives form a complete and coherent whole and I am absolutely committed to them. But they are easier said than delivered. So I am very proud of the effort my 1,325 colleagues at the PRA put in 2  every day in pursuit of them, steadily implementing the post-crisis reforms . But as I shall explain: the end of one chapter is the start of another. Firms need to renew their business models for the new world. A mixed economy  I think that the approach we have adopted for the PRA is the right one, but I am not starry-eyed about the system we are operating. 1 2  Firm total correct as at 19 October 2016.