Welcome address by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB and Chair of the European Systemic Risk Board, at the eighth annual conference of the ESRB

Frankfurt am Main, 26 September 2024

I would like to welcome all of you to the eighth annual conference of the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB).

The theme this year – “New Frontiers in Macroprudential Policy” – challenges us to rethink the ways in which we ensure financial stability in an evolving world.

Traditionally, macroprudential policy has focused on safeguarding the stability of banks, particularly by addressing boom-bust cycles in real estate. Banks continue to hold significant exposures to the real estate sector, and this remains a core area of our oversight.

But today our world is undergoing swift and profound changes.

While we must remain alert as ever to cyclical risks, major structural transformations – from shifting geopolitics to a changing climate and extraordinary advances in technology – are creating new…