Your Web Site
By Banque Centrale Européenne ( Ladies and gentlemen, You may ask why a central banker is reflecting about cards. Isn't monetary policy sufficiently challenging these days? Let me give you three explanations for this: First, it’s a great pleasure to speak before such distinguished audience. And it’s certainly always a pleasure to be in London. But I realize that this explanation may not suffice. Second, for central bankers efficient financial markets are crucial as they are a prerequisite for a smooth transmission of monetary policy. In this regard, keeping fragmented markets in the euro zone would not only mean lost opportunities but also less effective monetary policy. And third, in the Maastricht Treaty in 1993, European customers were promised a single market – also for financial services. Retail banking has still some... [read full story]
